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The  Development  of 

State  Legislation  Concerning  the 

Free  Negro 


By 

FRANKLIN  JOHNSON 


Submitted  in  partial  fulfilment  of  the  requirements  for  the 

Degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  in  the  Faculty  of 

Political  Science  in  Columbia  University 


NEW   YORK 


Copyright  IQIQ,  by  Franklin  Johnson 
' —  ^<C  v^7 


THE  ARBOR  PRESS,  INC. 

DOUGLAS  C.  MCMURTRIE 

NEW  YORK  CITY 


CONTENTS 

PART  £ 

General  Development  of  the  Legislation 
CHAPTER  I.   The  negro  problem  in  legislation i 

CHAPTER  II.    General  development  of  restrictive  legislation  8 

1.  Intermarriage 

2.  Education 

3.  Transportation 

4.  Civil  rights 

5.  Segregation 

6.  Miscellaneous  restrictive  provisions 

CHAPTER  III.    General  development  of  protective  legislation         26 

1.  Civil  rights 

2.  Education 

3.  Transportation 

4.  Miscellaneous  protective  provisions 

CHAPTER  IV.   Social  influences  affecting  the  legislation    .    .          39 

Tables  showing  chronological  enactment  of  legislation  ...          50 
Concerning  intermarriage 
Sanctioning  separation  in  education 
Prohibiting  separation  in  education 
Concerning  transportation 
Concerning  civil  rights 

Table  of  number  and  per  cent,  of  negro  population  in  each  state      56 

PART  II 

A  Detailed  Review  of  the  Laws 
Federal  legislation 57 

Legislation  in 

Page  Page 

Alabama 62      Nebraska 138 

Alaska 67      Nevada 140 

Arizona 68      New  Hampshire 141 


IV 


Contents 


Page 

Arkansas 68 

California 74 

Colorado 75 

Connecticut      77 

Delaware 80 

Florida 84 

Georgia 91 

Idaho 95 

Illinois 96 

Indiana 98 

Iowa 102 

Kansas 104 

Kentucky 106 

Louisiana 1 1 1 

Maine 117 

Maryland 118 

Massachusetts 123 

Michigan 126 

Minnesota 128 

Mississippi 130 

Missouri 136 

Montana 137 


Page 

New  Jersey 143 

New  Mexico 145 

New  York      147 

North  Carolina 155 

North  Dakota 161 

Ohio 161 

Oklahoma 167 

Oregon 171 

Pennsylvania     .......  172 

Rhode  Island 174 

South  Carolina 175 

South  Dakota 181 

Tennessee 182 

Texas 186 

Utah 192 

Vermont 192 

Virginia      192 

Washington 201 

West  Virginia 203 

Wisconsin 206 

Wyoming 207 


PREFACE 

This  monograph  deals  with  the  laws,  enacted  by  each  of  the  states 
of  the  United  States  and  by  the  Federal  government  prior  to  1917, 
which  in  terms  have  related  specifically  to  the  negro.  All  laws  of 
this  character  are  included  except  those  relating  to  slaves  and  to 
negroes  freed  prior  to  the  Civil  War,  and  so-called  "private"  and 
"local"  laws,  and  appropriation  acts.  No  attention  is  paid  to  laws 
which  in  terms  do  not  relate  to  the  negro  even  though  some  of  the 
statutes  of  this  character,  such  as  the  acts  restricting  the  suffrage 
and  containing  a  "grandfather"  clause,  were  undoubtedly  passed  with 
the  purpose  of  affecting  the  status  of  the  negro  very  materially. 
No  attempt  has  been  made  to  review  court  decisions.  Where, 
however,  laws  have  been  declared  void  or  unconstitutional,  such 
court  action  has  been  noted.  Various  other  limitations  of  the  field, 
for  the  most  part  of  minor  importance,  are  discussed  in  the  opening 
chapter.  Within  this  field  the  aim  has  been  to  present  a  complete 
record  of  all  enactments,  including  every  amendment  no  matter  how 
unimportant,  and  every  repeal  no  matter  how  small. 

The  original  aim  of  the  author  was  to  review  all  legislation  that 
had  ever  in  any  way  affected  the  negro  in  this  country,  in  the  hope 
that  the  material,  thus  rendered  available,  might  aid  in  an  intelli 
gent  understanding  of  the  status  of  that  race.  The  overwhelming 
magnitude  of  the  task  soon  became  evident,  however,  and  the  scope 
of  the  work  was  limited  in  the  ways  already  indicated. 

It  is  evident  that  complete  generalizations  concerning  the  general 
trend  of  legislation  affecting  the  negro  cannot  be  based  on  the  laws 
dealt  with  in  this  volume  alone.  Only  the  carrying  out  of  the 
original  plan  would  have  made  possible  a  valid  general  summary 
of  the  trend  of  legislation  concerning  the  negro  in  this  country.  It 
is  the  author's  hope,  however,  that  a  complete  review  of  the  field 
indicated  will  prove  more  valuable  than  the  possible  results  of  an 
attempt  to  deal  in  an  incomplete  manner  with  the  whole  field. 

The  thorough  treatment  undertaken  has  involved  much  labor  and 
difficult  investigation.  It  would  have  been  impossible  except  for 
the  libraries  of  the  New  York  Bar  Association  and  the  New  York 
Law  Institute,  where  the  larger  part  of  the  investigation  was  done. 


vi  Preface 

Many  difficulties  arose  in  the  course  of  the  minute  and  detailed 
work,  which  are  mentioned  more  fully  later.  They  include  on  the 
one  hand  difficulties  in  discovering  legislative  enactments,  and  on 
the  other  hand  difficulties  in  making  sure  of  the  absence  of  such 
enactments.  Thoroughness  and  accuracy  have  been  sought  and  it 
is  hoped  have  been  substantially  achieved.  Wherever  possible  each 
reference  has  been  verified.  In  a  few  cases  laws  have  necessarily 
been  accepted  as  referred  to  in  later  statute  books,  or  elsewhere 
than  the  original,  the  latter  being  no  longer  available.  Many  inaccu 
racies  and  errors  have  been  found  in  the  statute  records  themselves. 

In  addition  to  the  source  book  value  of  Part  II  of  this  volume  it 
is  the  hope  of  the  author  that  the  summaries  of  certain  parts  of  the 
material,  as  presented  in  Part  I,  will  prove  useful.  These  sum 
maries  relate  mainly  to  the  most  important  phases  of  the  legis 
lation  under  review,  namely,  intermarriage,  education,  transporta 
tion,  civil  rights  and  segregation. 

This  opportunity  cannot  be  passed  without  a  tribute  of  appre 
ciation  to  Professor  Franklin  H.  Giddings,  who  first  suggested  this 
line  of  research  and  interested  the  writer  in  it,  and  whose  high 
scholarship  and  broad  outlook  and  vision  inspire  all  who  have  come 
into  contact  with  him. 


PART  I 
THE  GENERAL  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  LEGISLATION 

CHAPTER  I.    The  Negro  Problem  in  Legislation 

Among  the  most  fundamental  social  problems  affecting  the  organi 
zation  of  a  society  are  those  which  concern  its  constitution  and 
homogeneity.  The  presence  in  the  social  structure  of  different 
portions  of  the  population,  with  different  interests,  different 
functions,  and  developing  along  different  lines,  is  a  fact  of  primary 
significance  where  it  exists.  The  reactions  of  one  such  population 
group  toward  another,  or  of  the  larger  body  toward  an  included 
group,  give  rise  to  phenomena  of  great  importance. 

In  the  United  States  the  negroes  form  a  population  group  which 
demands  most  thoughtful  consideration.  Their  numbers  are  great 
and  increasing.  They  have  been  intertwined  vitally  into  the 
development  and  history  of  the  country.  Many  difficult  problems 
of  adjustment  have  arisen  concerning  them.  Obviously  also  they 
cannot  in  a  generation  or  two  be  absorbed  and  disappear  as  a 
separate  group. 

The  object  of  this  study  is  to  investigate  such  phenomena  as 
appear  in  a  special  field  of  the  problem  of  the  negro  population  group. 
This  field  in  general  is  the  development  of  legislation  concerning  the 
negro  in  the  United  States  and  its  commonwealths.  Specifically, 
however,  this  essay  covers  but  a  portion  of  this  general  field,  as  will 
appear  presently  when  its  exact  scope  is  discussed. 

Laws  may  become  obsolete  or  dead  letters.  Nevertheless,  they 
tend  to  show  the  crystallization  of  public  opinion  at  the  time  of  their 
enactment,  and  the  method  of  treatment  of  a  subject  by  the  senti 
ment  of  the  population  as  a  whole.  They  also  indicate  a  situation 
requiring  attention,  and  what  is  regarded  as  necessary  to  meet  it. 
The  significance  of  laws,  therefore,  is  not  found  only  in  their  com 
plete  or  continued  enforcement.  It  is  also  found  in  their  indication 
of  the  viewpoint  of  the  governing  group  in  the  population  and  the 
ideals  held  by  them,  which  though  not  always  entirely  put  into 


2  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

practice  yet  in  a  measurable  degree  are  effective.  Stroud,  in  his 
Sketch  of  the  Laws  says,1  "In  representative  republics  like  the  United 
States  where  the  popular  voice  so  greatly  influences  all  political 
concerns,  and  where  the  members  of  the  legislative  departments  are 
dependent  for  their  places  upon  annual  elections,  the  laws  may 
safely  be  regarded  as  constituting  a  faithful  exposition  of  the  senti 
ments  of  the  people."  The  laws  of  a  state  thus  show  approximately 
the  preferred  method  of  treatment  of  a  subject,  and  in  large  part 
the  actual  treatment  of  the  subject.  To  some  extent  at  least  they 
show  at  the  time  of  passage,  as  often  as  reenacted,  and  so  long 
as  substantially  in  force,  the  effective  opinion  of  the  community. 

The  reaction  of  the  public  to  the  negro  problem  both  in  the  North 
and  in  the  South  has  accordingly  been  manifested  in  the  legislatures 
of  the  different  states  by  the  adoption  of  various  measures  of  legis 
lation  according  to  the  supposed  needs  of  the  time.  Legislative 
provisions  parallel  the  changing  situation  of  the  relationship  of  the 
white  and  the  colored  races,  and  the  development  and  progress  of 
legislation  concerning  the  negro  throws  lights  on  both  the  history 
and  advancement  of  that  race  and  on  the  opinions  and  viewpoint  of 
the  members  of  the  dominant  white  population.  Legislation  in 
regard  to  the  negro  with  reference  to  its  historical  development, 
therefore,  is  one  of  the  most  important  fields  of  study. 

In  spite  of  the  great  volume  of  literature  which  has  been  published 
in  regard  to  the  negro  little  has  appeared  treating  of  his  legal  status. 
Prior  to  the  Civil  War,  many  books  of  considerable  merit  on  this 
aspect  of  the  negro  question  were  published.  Among  these  may  be 
mentioned:  Goodell,  The  American  Slave  Code  (1853);  Wheeler,  A 
Practical  Treatise  on  the  Law  of  Slavery  (1837) ;  Stroud,  A  Sketch  of  the 
Laws  Relating  to  Slavery  in  the  Several  States  (1858) ;  and  Kurd,  The 
Law  of  Freedom  and  Bondage  in  the  United  States  (1858  and  1862). 
The  book  by  Wheeler  consists  of  a  compilation  of  the  decisions  made 
on  the  subjects  in  the  courts,  and  is  a  case  book  or  digest.  The  other 
books  treat  of  the  statute  laws  regulating  the  negro  race.  All  of 
these  works,  together  with  others  not  here  named,  fully  cover  the 
law  concerning  the  negro  in  slavery  or  the  slave  codes.  Legislation 
concerning  the  free  negro  is  also  referred  to,  and  is  treated  by  Hurd 
in  a  full  and  thorough  fashion.  The  Law  of  Freedom  and  Bondage 
takes  up  the  subject  of  legislation  concerning  the  free  negro  as  found 

1  Page  v. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  3 

in  each  of  the  several  slave  states,  and  in  a  number  of  the  free  states, 
this  work  being  an  adequate  and  sufficient  authority  on  such  legis 
lation  in  the  slave  states  up  to  the  time  of  the  Civil  War. 

Since  the  Civil  War,  while  there  have  been  numerous  brief  articles 
appearing  in  periodical  literature,  the  field  of  the  legal  treatment  of 
negroes  in  the  United  States  apparently  remains  untouched  with 
the  exception  of  one  book,  namely,  Stephenson's,  Race  Distinctions 
in  American  Law.  The  object  of  this  book  is,  in  the  words  of  its 
preface:  "The  inquiry  has  been:  how  much  does  the  negro  lack  of 
being,  in  truth,  a  full-fledged  American  citizen?  What  limitations 
upon  him  are  allowed  or  imposed  by  law  because  he  is  a  negro?" 
The  book  takes  up  the  important  lines  of  legislation,  and  gives 
for  each  subject  its  various  forms  and  provisions,  with  the  states  in 
which  these  are  the  law.  It  also  includes  past  legislation  regarded 
as  important,  under  each  line  of  legislation,  as  well  as  references  to 
court  decisions  selected  from  those  which  comment  on  and  interpret 
the  laws. 

The  present  work  has  a  different  field  and  purpose.  It  presents 
a  complete  record  of  all  legislative  enactments,  up  to  1918,  within 
its  scope,  which  have  ever  been  adopted  by  any  state,  and  such 
parts  of  Federal  legislation  as  will  presently  be  mentioned.  The 
legislation  is  recorded  under  the  name  of  each  state,  and  is  pre 
sented  in  the  chronological  order  in  which  it  was  enacted,  the 
year  of  each  enactment  being  shown. 

The  complete  record  of  all  acts,  chronologically  presented,  and 
recorded  for  each  state,  shows  the  subjects  and  topics  of  legislation 
within  our  field,  which  it  has  been  considered  necessary  to  adopt  in 
the  legislative  history  of  any  state.  The  various  times  and  periods 
within  each  state  when  the  legislature  took  such  action  are  thus 
presented.  The  amount  of  legislation  is  shown,  and  the  particular 
lines  and  kinds,  within  the  field,  which  have  ever  been  adopted  by 
any  state,  or  which  have  ever  been  repealed  or  modified  after  pre 
vious  adoption.  Conversely  the  absence  of  legislative  action  on  the 
part  of  any  state  is  made  evident.  The  progressive  development  of 
legislation  is  presented  for  each  state.  The  tendencies  and  the  trends 
are  manifested  in  each  state,  as  they  have  appeared  from  time  to 
time.  The  material  is  thus  made  available  for  the  comparative 
study  of  the  legislation  of  one  state  with  that  of  another,  or  of  the 
legislation  of  one  period  with  that  of  another  period.  Chronological 


4  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

tables  of  some  of  the  most  important  lines  of  legislation  are  given 
for  convenience  of  reference. 

The  general  field  of  the  present  investigation,  as  already  indicated, 
is  the  investigation  of  the  development  of  legislation  concerning  the 
negro.  The  specific  field,  however,  requires  delimitation  both  chro 
nologically  and  as  to  subject  matter.  Considering  the  chronological 
limitation  a  difference  immediately  appears  between  the  former 
slave  states  and  the  free  states.  In  the  slave  states  there  was,  pre 
vious  to  emancipation,  a  certain  amount  of  legislation  concerning 
the  free  negro.  This  as  already  stated  has  been  thoroughly  covered 
for  each  state  by  Hurd.  Any  further  consideration  of  it  would  be 
mere  repetition.  Moreover,  most  of  it  was  dissimilar  from  the  lines 
of  present  legislation  and  outside  its  course  of  development.  This 
period  is  therefore  not  included  herein.  A  second  period  to  con 
sider  is  that  immediately  following  the  Civil  War,  when  in  the  slave 
states  various  laws  were  passed  concerning  the  freed  negro  often 
minutely  regulating  his  position.  These  laws  were  only  temporary 
and  were  both  adopted  and  repealed  or  omitted  from  the  compiled 
laws  within  a  brief  period,  in  some  cases  within  a  year.  Some  of 
them  apparently  were  never  put  into  force.  They  constitute  a 
single  period,  without  features  of  inner  development  important  for 
us,  and  have  been  referred  to  in  general  literature.  Many  of  them 
were  of  great  bulk,  many  pages  of  detailed  regulations  appearing  in 
a  single  act.  They  were  also  mostly  dissimilar  from  the  lines  of 
present  legislation,  from  which  they  are  separated  by  the  Four 
teenth  Amendment  to  the  Constitution  and  by  the  effect  of  the 
Reconstruction  administrations  in  the  Southern  states.  They 
referred  to  such  subjects  as  minute  regulations  of  farm  labor  and 
duties  of  the  negro,  terms  of  employment,  possession  of  weapons, 
etc.  For  these  reasons  detailed  tracing  of  these  laws  for  each  state  is 
not  included.  For  each  Southern  state  therefore  the  record  com 
mences  with  the  first  more  permanent  laws  following  the  Civil  War 
and  freedom.  The  laws  of  the  Reconstruction  period  are  included 
because  although  many  were  later  repealed  at  various  dates,  they 
overlap,  merge  into,  and  interlink  with  later  legislation  in  many  cases. 

For  the  free  states  the  legislation  was  not  marked  by  any  sharp 
break  such  as  the  Civil  War  occasioned  in  the  Southern  states,  but 
flows  in  a  more  nearly  continuous  stream.  It  is  not  possible  to 
select  any  particular  starting  place  for  its  development.  Therefore 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  5 

for  these  states  the  record  goes  back  to  the  earliest  legislative  enact 
ments,  where  necessary  antedating  statehood,  thus  including  the 
earliest  provincial  laws  and  territorial  laws,  in  spite  of  the  difficulty 
of  ascertaining  them. 

The  delimination  of  the  field  of  the  investigation  as  to  subject 
matter  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  essay  includes  all  general 
legislation  mentioning  the  negro  in  freedom.  Thus  all  legislation 
relating  to  slavery  is  excluded.  The  term  general  legislation  ex 
cludes  so-called  private  or  local  laws  and  money  appropriations  by 
the  legislature  of  the  state.  A  few  instances  of  such  legislation  and 
of  other  types  of  legislation  not  strictly  within  the  scope  of  this 
monograph  are  included  for  special  reasons.  The  investigation 
also  excludes  court  decisions,  except  where  the  court  holds  legisla 
tion  unconstitutional  or  otherwise  void.  A  few  other  court  decisions 
are  included  for  special  reasons,  noted  in  each  instance. 

All  legislation,  whether  in  constitution  or  in  session  laws,  is  in 
cluded  which  mentions  the  negro  or  specifically  refers  to  him, 
through  the  use  of  such  words  as  negro,  color,  black,  white,  race, 
etc.,  or  in  any  other  way,  except  slave  laws,  local  and  private  laws, 
appropriation  acts,  and  such  Federal  legislation  as  is  indicated  in 
the  following  paragraphs.  Legislation  without  explicit  reference  to 
the  negro  is  not  included.  There  are,  of  course,  certain  acts  supposed 
to  have  been  passed  with  reference  to  the  negro,  though  containing 
no  mention  of  him.  But  to  determine  whether  a  given  act  not  men 
tioning  the  negro  was  enacted  with  special  reference  to  him  or  not 
is  not  always  easy  and  is  often  a  matter  of  opinion.  Among  such 
laws  are  various  vagrancy  laws,  peonage  laws,  and  the  election  laws 
of  different  Southern  states.  The  least  disputed  example  probably 
were  the  so-called  "grandfather"  clauses  of  certain  Southern  election 
laws,  yet  even  these  have  been  declared  otherwise.  The  limit  has 
perforce  been  drawn  according  to  the  terms  of  the  law  and  not  ac 
cording  to  the  underlying  motives  of  the  legislators.  There  is  also 
naturally  not  included  each  instance  of  the  mere  repetition  of 
previously  enacted  legislation,  without  alteration,  in  the  course  of 
issuing  successive  editions  of  Compiled  Statutes,  or  otherwise 
repeating  general  sections  of  statutes.  All  alterations,  repeals,  or 
even  omissions  of  a  law  are  carefully  noted. 

Federal  legislation  differs  completely  from  state  legislation,  in  that 
it  has  been  thoroughly  and  carefully  indexed,  from  an  early  date, 


6  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

the  index  including  past  enactments.  A  long  list  of  all  Federal 
enactments  on  the  subject,  major  and  minor,  would  be  needless 
duplication,  lists  of  enactments  being  already  accessible  in  the 
Federal  indexes.  Some  Federal  legislation  is  included  as  an  aid  to 
understanding  the  development  of  state  legislation. 

Research  into  existing  laws  is  a  less  onerous  task  than  an  attempt 
to  discover  and  to  record  all  legislation  enacted  at  any  time  within 
a  given  field.  The  difficulties  in  research  into  the  past  records  of 
legislation  are  great.  While  court  decisions  are  well  indexed  and 
contained  in  numerous  digests,  there  is  in  most  states  a  total  lack  of 
both  indexes  and  digests  for  past  statute  law.  The  current  law  of  a 
state  is  contained  in  the  compiled  laws  or  revised  statutes  of  the 
state,  but  it  is  frequently  a  matter  of  great  difficulty  to  trace  any 
one  of  these  laws  in  its  development  and  to  its  origin.  Still  harder 
is  it  to  discover  laws  which  have  been  long  repealed  and  have  there 
fore  disappeared. 

In  many  cases  inaccurate  indexes  were  found  in  the  volumes  of 
statutes.  Even  in  volumes  of  session  laws,  there  are  sometimes  en 
actments  which  have  been  totally  omitted  from  the  index  of  the 
volume,  and  can  therefore  be  discovered  only  by  an  actual  turning 
over  of  all  the  pages  contained  in  the  statute  book.  This  was  found 
to  be  the  case  in  a  number  of  instances.  In  many  instances  a  law 
although  indexed  is  referred  to  in  such  a  way  that  no  reference 
whatever  to  the  negro  race  appears.  For  example,  some  of  the  recent 
hospital  legislation  concerning  the  colored  race  can  be  discovered 
only  under  the  word  hospital,  the  index  containing  no  word  whatever 
indicating  its  special  application  to  the  negro.  The  indexing  of  laws 
is  also  done  under  a  large  number  of  varying  heads,  all  of  which 
must  be  examined  in  every  state  to  cover  possible  statutes.  For 
example,  a  separate  coach  law  may  be  found  indexed  only  under 
the  head  of  Railroads,  in  other  cases  only  under  Jim  Crow,  in  other 
cases  only  under  Common  Carriers,  or  again,  only  under  one  of 
the  many  terms  used  to  indicate  the  negro,  such  as  Negro,  Colored, 
Black,  Race,  Mulatto.  Search  must  be  made  under  all  of  these 
heads  to  ascertain  the  law.  If  the  intent  of  the  index  makers  had 
been  to  conceal  the  laws  contained  in  the  statute  books  and  in  the 
session  laws,  they  could  at  times  have  adopted  no  better  plan  to 
accomplish  this  purpose. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  7 

There  is  also  carelessness  in  the  printing  of  statutes.  In  a  number 
of  cases  laws  are  referred  to  in  later  legislation  or  in  court  decisions 
which  diligent  search  failed  to  reveal  in  the  statute  books  of  the  date 
referred  to,  or  at  any  other  time. 

On  account  of  the  lack  of  proper  indexing,  and  in  addition  the 
failure  of  most  states  to  maintain  any  record  of  legislation  which 
was  later  repealed,  or  as  often  happened  simply  omitted,  it  is  even 
harder  to  make  sure  that  there  was  no  legislation  in  a  given  period 
than  to  discover  such  legislation  when  it  exists.  The  variation  in 
usage  among  the  different  states  is  great  as  to  their  methods  of 
recording  or  referring  to  statutes  which  do  not  appear  in  the  latest 
compilation  of  current  laws.  An  investigation  based  on  court 
decisions  is  far  easier,  for  the  reasons  given,  than  one  into  past 
statutory  law. 

Legislation  mentioning  the  negro  falls  naturally  into  two  broad 
divisions.  The  first  includes  enactments  in  restriction  of  the  negro, 
or  expressing  a  sentiment  opposed  to  his  full  and  unrestrained  inter 
mingling  with  the  activities  of  the  white  population.  The  second 
includes  enactments  in  protection  of  the  negro,  or  expressing  a 
sentiment  favoring  him  and  his  participation  in  activities.  All 
legislation  of  both  classes  is  of  course  here  recorded.  This  division 
is  a  natural  one  for  the  consideration  of  the  field.  The  follow 
ing  chapters  accordingly  consider  first  restrictive  enactments,  then 
protective  enactments.  Following  this,  consideration  is  given  to 
social  influences  underlying  the  legislation. 


CHAPTER  II. 

General  Development  of  Restrictive  Legislation 

For  the  proper  understanding  of  the  course  of  legislation  in  the 
individual  states,  some  knowledge  is  necessary  of  the  general  devel 
opment  of  each  of  the  several  lines  of  legislation,  as  found  in  the 
states  considered  together.  Such  a  view  of  the  legislation  is  likewise 
important  in  itself.  This  chapter  will  treat  therefore  of  the  out 
standing  features  of  the  development  of  legislation  in  restriction  of 
the  negro.  Within  the  scope  outlined  in  the  previous  chapter  it 
will  consider  restrictive  legislation  concerning  intermarriage  or 
miscegenation,  education,  transportation,  civil  rights,  segregation, 
and  miscellaneous  provisions.  Protective  legislation  will  be  con 
sidered  in  the  following  chapter. 

INTERMARRIAGE 

Legislation  concerning  intermarriage  or  miscegenation  is  simple 
in  form.  In  the  nature  of  the  case  it  was  not  subject  to  a  process  of 
development  and  growth  as  to  its  provisions.  It  always  consisted 
of  the  prohibition  of  intermarriage  between  any  negro  and  any  white 
person.  Two  minor  modifications  are  noted  later  which  slightly 
vary  the  last  term.  A  penalty  for  violation  of  the  law  was 
usually  imposed.  In  most  states  the  intermarriage  was  declared 
void. 

The  law  against  intermarriage  made  its  appearance  at  an  earlier 
date  than  any  other  article  of  legislation  considered,  either  restrictive 
or  protective. 

Most  of  the  states,  both  Northern  and  Southern,  which  enacted 
such  legislation  did  so  prior  to  the  Civil  War.  Closely  following  the 
end  of  that  period,  however,  four  states  adopted  such  an  act.  After 
that  time  no  further  state,  which  had  not  previously  done  so, 
adopted  an  intermarriage  prohibition,  except  Louisiana  and  except 
territories  which  entered  late  into  statehood,  namely,  Utah,  Okla 
homa,  Montana  and  South  Dakota.  Therefore,  by  far  the  larger 
part  of  all  legislation  prohibiting  intermarriage  was  first  enacted 
either  prior  to  or  just  following  the  Civil  War. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  9 

The  law  has  been  repeated  or  reenacted  with  trifling  modifications 
by  various  states,  no  special  feature  marking  its  course.  At  no 
time  was  there  found  after  1850  a  period  of  longer  than  three  years 
without  the  appearance  in  some  state  of  such  an  enactment  or 
reenactment,  until  1895. 

The  law  against  intermarriage  was  repealed  or  omitted  by  eleven 
states  which  at  one  time  had  enacted  the  statute,  and  in  one  other 
state  was  rendered  inoperative  through  a  court  decision.  The 
states  which  repealed  or  omitted  the  law,  with  the  date  of  such 
action,  are  Massachusetts,  repealed  1840;  Iowa,  omitted  1851; 
Maine,  omitted  1857,  repealed  1883;  Kansas,  repealed  1859;  New 
Mexico,  repealed  1866;  Washington,  repealed  1867;  South  Carolina, 
repealed  1868;  Mississippi,  omitted  1871;  Rhode  Island,  repealed 
1881;  Michigan,  repealed  1883;  Ohio,  repealed  1887.  The  two 
Southern  states  of  Mississippi  and  South  Carolina  later  reenacted 
the  law,  Mississippi  in  1880  by  insertion  in  its  Revised  Statutes  of 
that  date,  and  South  Carolina  by  reenactment  in  1879.  In  addition 
to  these  ten  states,  the  intermarriage  law  of  Alabama  was  held  void 
by  a  decision  of  the  state  court  in  1872,  and  five  years  later  was  again 
declared  valid  by  a  further  court  decision. 

Only  three  instances  of  the  repeal  or  omission  of  the  law  came 
before  1865,  all  the  other  cases,  including  its  repeal  in  the  state  of 
Maine,  dating  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  War.  None  of  the  in 
stances  of  permanent  repeal  or  abandonment  were  in  the  Southern 
states.1  New  Mexico  is  not  here  classed  as  a  Southern  state,  and 
the  permanent  repeal  of  the  law  there  was  in  line  with  the  general 
legislation  of  that  state,  which  in  its  development  has  opposed  dis 
crimination  or  restriction  on  account  of  its  large  population  with 
Mexican  and  Spanish  blood. 

A  few  states  in  their  earlier  statutes  formerly  imposed  a  penalty 
upon  the  white  person  but  not  upon  the  negro,  West  Virginia  being 
the  only  such  state  at  the  present  time.  On  the  contrary  a  few 
imposed  a  severer  penalty  upon  the  negro  than  upon  the  white 
person.  A  few  of  the  very  early  statutes  also  contained  extremely 
severe  penalties,  such  as  life  slavery,  for  a  free  negro  violating  the 
law.  These  early  severe  penalties  have  also  disappeared.  An 
early  provision  was  also  the  imposing  of  a  penalty  upon  the 

1  The  term  Southern  states  in  this  essay  has  a  special  meaning,  namely,  the  former 
slave-holding  states. 


io  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

person  performing  the  ceremony  but  not  upon  the  parties  to 
the  intermarriage.  Massachusetts  exemplifies  this.  The  theory 
was,  apparently,  that  the  person  qualified  to  perform  a  marriage 
ceremony  was  a  person  of  especial  responsibility  and  intelligence, 
and  since  the  violation  of  the  law  was  impossible  without  his  act, 
the  penalty  was  inflicted  solely  upon  him. 

One  great  object  of  laws  against  intermarriage  is  undoubtedly  to 
prevent  race  mixture,  or  as  the  early  act  of  Massachusetts  phrased 
it,  "to  prevent  spurious  and  mixed  issue."  It  is  a  noticeable  feature 
of  this  legislation  that  only  a  few  states  have  ever  enacted  any  laws 
against  illicit  intercourse  between  white  and  colored  persons.  Pro 
visions  to  this  effect  have  been  inserted  in  the  law  against  inter 
marriage  of  three  states  only,  Alabama,  Florida,  and  Nevada,  while 
one  state  only,  namely,  Louisiana,  has  provided  for  it  in  a  sep 
arate  act. 

The  two  minor  modifications  in  the  general  provision  referring  to 
white  persons  are  as  follows:  North  Carolina  in  1871  prohibited 
also  intermarriage  of  a  negro  with  an  Indian,  later  in  1887  limiting 
this  only  to  the  Croatan  Indians,  or  Indians  of  Roberson  County. 
Massachusetts  in  its  law  referred  to  in  the  preceding  paragraph 
forbade  negro  intermarriage  with  a  person  of  any  Christian  nation. 

EDUCATION 

Restrictive  legislation  concerning  education  is  directed  toward 
securing  separation  in  education  between  the  negro  and  the  white 
races.  The  general  form  of  a  separate  education  law  is  an  act 
requiring  separation  in  schools  and  institutions  of  learning  con 
ducted  by  the  state.  A  second  form  of  the  law  has  been  enacted 
in  four  Northern  states,  by  which  such  separation  is  permitted,  but 
not  required,  the  states  being  Arizona,  Indiana,  Kansas,  and  Wy 
oming.  One  other  Northern  state,  namely,  New  York,  while  specifi 
cally  forbidding  exclusion  from  any  school  on  account  of  color, 
provides  a  method  of  establishing  voluntary  separate  schools. 
Recent  modifications  of  the  above-named  general  form  of  the  sep 
aration  law  are  mentioned  later.  Legislation  prohibiting  separation 
in  education  will  be  referred  to  in  another  chapter. 

Most  of  the  laws  thus  restricting  negro  education  which  were 
adopted  by  the  Northern  states  were  first  enacted  either  before  or 
very  shortly  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  War.  California  first  enacted 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  1 1 

its  law  in  1869.  No  other  state  outside  of  the  group  of  Southern 
states  enacted  for  the  first  time  such  a  law  after  this,  except  three 
states  which  entered  into  statehood  at  a  late  date,  namely,  Arizona, 
Oklahoma,  and  Wyoming.  Restrictive  legislation  concerning  edu 
cation,  outside  the  Southern  states,  therefore  in  general  ceased  to 
develop  four  years  after  the  Civil  War,  and  but  for  California  would 
have  ceased  in  1865,  subject  to  the  exceptions  just  named. 

Most  of  the  Southern  states,  contrary  to  the  course  of  the  North 
ern  states,  enacted  such  a  law  as  a  definite  part  of  their  statutes  at 
varying  periods  after  the  Civil  War.  The  reason  for  this  is  plain. 
Previous  to  that  time  not  only  was  the  public  school  system  in  a 
rudimentary  form,  but  the  colored  people  were  slaves.  Separation 
was  a  matter  which  in  general  required  no  legislation  to  enforce 
during  the  time  of  slavery.  What  little  legislation  was  enacted 
was  in  total  restriction  of  education  for  the  negro,  rather  than  for 
separation  in  education.  When  slavery  ceased,  it  then  became 
necessary  to  enact  definite  requirements  of  separation  to  secure  it. 

No  Southern  state  which  ever  enacted  a  separate  education  law 
has  ever  abandoned  it,  with  the  temporary  exceptions  of  South 
Carolina  and  Louisiana.  This  is  referred  to  more  fully  in  the 
following  chapter. 

In  most  of  the  Northern  states  which  restricted  education  the 
development  of  legislation  has  been  away  from  separation.  Sep 
arate  education  laws  have  been  either  omitted,  or  have  been  replaced 
by  a  definite  prohibition  of  separation.  The  separation  requirement 
has  been  omitted  by  Nevada,  Ohio,  and  California  as  to  negroes. 
Separation  has  been  replaced  by  definite  prohibition  in  Minnesota, 
Montana,  New  York,  and  Pennsylvania. 

The  former  separate  education  laws  of  various  states  contained 
requirements  which  deserve  attention.  In  some  states  the  funds 
for  the  support  of  the  negro  schools  were  not  drawn  from  the  public 
school  funds  in  general,  but  were  derived  from  the  taxation  of  the 
property  of  colored  persons  or  from  special  taxes  upon  colored 
people  such  as  poll  taxes  or  special  educational  taxes.  Under  these 
conditions  the  colored  race  was  charged  with  the  support  of  its  own 
schools,  either  wholly  or  in  large  part.  This  provision  has  disap 
peared  from  the  law  today  except  in  Kentucky  where  it  appears 
still  to  be  sanctioned.  Another  feature  which  formerly  appeared 
in  certain  states  was  a  provision  vesting  the  control  of  the  negro 


12  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

schools  in  negro  trustees  or  school  boards,  instead  of  placing 
the  separate  negro  schools  under  the  control  of  the  general  school 
board  in  each  district.  This  appeared  to  be  a  measure  of  self- 
government  for  the  negro.  It  probably  operated  injuriously  to 
entrust  the  administration  of  the  schools  to  people  themselves 
limited  in  education  by  necessity,  who  had  few  means  of  acquiring 
information  concerning  educational  methods.  A  third  feature  con 
cerns  the  minimum  number  of  pupils  required  in  a  few  states  for  the 
maintenance  of  separate  schools,  it  being  provided  that  when  there 
are  fewer  children  in  a  district  than  the  required  number  the  school 
board  is  not  required  to  maintain  separate  schools.  The  tendency 
has  been  to  reduce  the  number  so  required,  as  seen  for  example  in 
West  Virginia.  The  states  having  such  requirements  at  present  are 
Arizona,  requiring  eight;  Maryland,  "if  the  number  shall  warrant;" 
Missouri,  fifteen;  West  Virginia,  ten;  and  Wyoming,  fifteen. 

A  noteworthy  development  of  separate  education  legislation  has 
appeared  in  certain  Southern  states,  in  the  late  enactment  of  a 
requirement  compelling  separation  in  all  schools  and  institutions  of 
learning,  no  matter  by  whom  conducted.  The  previous  laws  and 
the  laws  of  other  states  require  separation  in  education  supported 
by  public  funds  and  administered  by  the  state,  that  is,  in  public 
schools.  The  new  requirement  has  added  private  schools.  This 
provision  appeared  first  in  Florida  in  a  law  of  1895,  which  was 
specially  designed  to  include  all  schools  both  public  and  private. 
Florida  had  many  years  before  passed  a  law  requiring  separation  in 
education,  and  also  had  enacted  a  constitutional  requirement  to  the 
same  effect.  In  the  law  of  1895  it  extended  the  previous  enactments 
so  that  not  only  public  schools  and  institutions  of  learning  supported 
by  state  funds  were  required  to  maintain  separation  of  races,  but 
also  all  educational  institutions  in  the  state  were  under  the  same 
requirement.  The  Florida  law  forbade  conducting  either  a  public  or 
private  school  where  white  persons  and  negroes  are  instructed  in 
the  same  building,  or  in  the  same  class,  or  at  the  same  time  by  one 
teacher.  The  law  imposed  a  penalty  both  upon  the  teacher,  and 
also  upon  anyone  patronizing  the  school,  which  included  its  sup 
porters  and  its  officers. 

A  law  similar  in  its  general  provisions  to  the  statute  of  Florida 
appeared  six  years  later,  in  1901,  in  Tennessee.  It  forbade  any 
institution  of  learning  from  receiving  white  and  colored  pupils 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  13 

together.  It  also  rendered  it  unlawful  for  any  teacher  to  instruct 
them  together  or  to  allow  it.  The  penalty  was  imposed  both  on  any 
teacher  violating  the  law,  and  on  the  institution  itself.  The  laws 
of  Florida  and  Tennessee  resemble  each  other,  and  the  second  was 
evidently  copied  in  its  general  terms  from  the  first.  They  form  a 
class  by  themselves,  distinct  from  the  two  later  statutes  covering 
the  same  field,  mentioned  in  the  next  paragraphs. 

A  separate  education  law  covering  all  institutions  of  learning  both 
public  and  private  was  enacted  in  Kentucky  in  1904,  three  years 
after  the  Tennessee  act.  This  was  drawn  in  entirely  different 
terms,  and  manifested  a  different  spirit  from  the  previous  laws  just 
examined.  It  rendered  it  unlawful  to  operate  any  institute  of 
learning  where  persons  of  the  two  races  were  received  as  pupils. 
It  imposed  the  extremely  heavy  fine  of  one  thousand  dollars  together 
with  an  added  fine  of  one  hundred  dollars  for  each  day  the  institu 
tion  was  operated  after  conviction.  It  also  imposed  the  same  severe 
fine  upon  each  individual  instructor  teaching  in  any  such  institution, 
and  this  regardless  of  whether  the  special  instructor  had  personally 
taught  both  races  jointly.  If  the  school  had  one  class  in  which  both 
races  were  taught  together,  and  the  school  maintained  a  staff  of 
twenty  instructors,  then  each  instructor  would  be  liable  to  the  fine 
of  one  thousand  dollars.  The  act  further  made  attendance  at  such 
a  school  unlawful  for  each  white  person  and  also  each  negro  attend 
ing  as  student,  and  imposed  the  heavy  fine  of  fifty  dollars  for  each 
day  any  student  whatever  attended  such  an  institution.  The  act 
allowed  a  separate  branch  located  at  least  twenty-five  miles  away 
for  the  education  of  a  different  race.2  It  will  be  seen  how  different 
this  act  is  from  the  Tennessee  statute.  The  Kentucky  law  not  only 
imposed  a  heavy  penalty  upon  the  institution  itself  and  upon  any 
teacher  offending,  but  it  also  penalized  the  entire  teaching  staff  of 
the  institution,  and  the  entire  student  body.  The  Kentucky  statute 
in  question  could  hardly  be  more  severe  unless  it  made  violation  a 
prison  offense.  The  law  was  directed  at  the  only  institution  in 
Kentucky  at  that  time  which  received  both  white  and  negro  stu 
dents,  namely,  Berea  College.  This  institution  was  established  long 
before  the  Civil  War  for  the  purpose  of  the  education  of  the  popula 
tion  of  the  mountain  whites  in  Eastern  Kentucky  and  in  the  adjoin- 

2  This  last  provision  was  held  void  because  unreasonable,  by  the  Kentucky  court 
in  1906. 


14  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

ing  states.  Subsequent  to  the  Civil  War,  negro  students  were  also 
received,  and  out  of  a  total  number  of  approximately  one  thousand 
students  at  the  time  of  the  enactment  of  the  statute,  about  one-fifth 
were  colored. 

Similar  to  the  Kentucky  statute  and  forming  a  class  with  it  was 
the  law  of  Oklahoma  of  1908,  which  apparently  copied  the  Ken 
tucky  act,  although  much  more  mild  in  its  penalties.  The  Okla 
homa  law  made  it  illegal  to  operate  any  institution  of  learning 
receiving  both  white  and  colored  students.  An  offending  institution 
was  fined  from  one  hundred  to  five  hundred  dollars,  and  each  day 
it  was  open  was  a  separate  offense.  Each  teacher  of  such  a  school 
could  be  fined  from  ten  to  fifty  dollars  a  day,  and  each  pupil  from 
five  to  twenty  dollars  a  day.  It  will  be  seen  how  closely  this  act 
was  apparently  patterned  after  that  of  Kentucky,  avoiding  however 
the  extreme  penalties  imposed  by  the  latter.  It  also  avoided  the 
provision  requiring  a  separate  branch  not  less  than  twenty-five 
miles  away  for  the  education  of  a  different  race,  which  had  been  held 
void  by  the  Kentucky  courts  two  years  before. 

These  four  states  are  the  only  ones  refusing  to  allow  the  same 
institution  to  furnish  instruction,  even  though  separately  conducted, 
to  both  the  white  and  colored  races,  even  when  such  institutions  are 
entirely  private  in  their  support,  and  receive  no  part  of  the  public 
state  educational  funds.  The  two  earlier  statutes  were  mild  in  tone 
and  carried  moderate  penalties.  The  two  later  statutes  were 
stringent  and  carried  severe  penalties. 

The  most  recent  development  of  the  separate  education  legis 
lation  of  the  Southern  states  is  a  requirement  limiting  the  instruction 
of  negro  children  to  teachers  of  the  negro  race.  The  majority  of 
the  teachers  of  the  negro  children  are  at  present  of  the  negro  race, 
and  this  law  prevents  instruction  except  by  such,  withdrawing  the 
benefit  of  white  instruction.  Such  a  law  was  enacted  by  Florida  in 
1913,  being  of  course  reciprocal  in  its  terms. 

TRANSPORTATION 

Separation  in  transportation  is  the  most  conspicuous  form  of 
restriction.  The  public  in  general  does  not  often  enter  schools,  and 
intermarriage  between  the  races  is  not  only  rare  but  not  necessarily 
noticeable  when  it  exists.  Separation  in  public  transportation  be 
comes  evident  at  once  to  any  person  who  travels  in  the  states  having 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  15 

such  requirements.  On  this  account,  it  is  often  the  first  law  which 
the  public  thinks  of  when  considering  restrictive  legislation  con 
cerning  the  negro. 

Laws  requiring  separation  in  transportation  came  only  after  the 
close  of  the  Civil  War.  Before  the  Civil  War,  while  slavery  was 
still  in  force,  such  separation  was  universally  compelled,  the  author 
ity  of  the  white  race  over  the  negroes  being  sufficient  for  this  pur 
pose.  Subsequent  to  the  Civil  War,  the  authority  of  the  white  race 
though  no  longer  legally  binding  was  felt  as  a  moral  force  by  the 
colored  race  and  apparently  was  sufficient  to  secure  the  continuance 
of  such  separation  in  most  of  the  Southern  states  for  a  long  period 
after  the  close  of  the  War,  although  three  such  states  adopted  legis 
lation  in  somewhat  elementary  form  immediately  after  the  Civil 
War.  A  further  reason  doubtless  was  the  fact  that  railroad  travel 
was  not  so  prevalent  at  an  earlier  period  as  at  present,  while  the 
colored  population  lacked  both  means  and  motive  for  extended  and 
frequent  use  of  railroads.  During  the  Reconstruction  period  all 
three  states  referred  to  repealed  their  laws.  With  the  exception  of 
a  single  state,  Tennessee,  in  1881,  no  state  enacted  a  separate  coach 
law  or  other  provision  as  to  separation  in  transportation  until  more 
than  twenty  years  after  the  Civil  War.  In  1887,  and  during  the 
five  years  following,  a  number  of  Southern  states  adopted  this 
provision,  the  others  following  in  the  years  immediately  after  1898. 

The  state  which  first  enacted  a  definite  law  requiring  separation 
in  public  vehicles  following  the  Civil  War  was  Florida,  in  1865.  The 
law  provided  that  no  negro  should  intrude  himself  into  any  public 
vehicle  set  apart  for  white  people.  It  carried  a  penalty  of  standing 
in  the  pillory  or  of  being  whipped,  or  both.  The  law  applied  equally 
to  any  white  person  intruding  into  any  vehicle  for  the  colored  race, 
under  the  same  penalties.  No  white  person  would  probably  as  a 
matter  of  fact  so  intrude,  but  nevertheless  the  penalty,  especially 
that  of  whipping,  which  was  used  for  the  colored  race,  is  noteworthy 
in  its  application  to  the  white  race,  though  only  in  form.  In  the 
same  year  Mississippi  enacted  a  law  forbidding  the  employee  of  any 
railroad  to  permit  any  negro  to  ride  in  cars  used  for  white  persons, 
under  penalty  of  fine  and  imprisonment.  This  statute  was  entirely 
in  restriction  of  the  colored  race,  and  contained  no  reciprocal  clause 
applying  likewise  to  the  white  race.  Following  the  example  of  these 
two  states,  Texas  enacted  a  brief  provision  to  the  effect  that  every 


1 6  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

railroad  company  was  required  to  attach  to  each  passenger  train 
one  car  for  freed  men.  This  law  did  not  require  compulsory  sep 
aration  between  the  white  and  negro  travellers.  It  was  apparently 
assumed  that  the  colored  freed  men  would  in  fact  travel  in  their 
own  car.  These  three  early  laws  were  elementary,  and  did  not  reach 
the  well  developed  form  of  the  later  separate  coach  legislation. 

During  the  Reconstruction  period  these  three  laws  were  repealed. 
Several  Southern  states  then  adopted  statutes  prohibiting  separation 
in  transportation.  These  will  be  referred  to  more  fully  in  the  fol 
lowing  chapter.  They  were  with  one  exception  afterward  repealed. 

The  next  appearance  of  separation  legislation  was  a  provision 
permitting  but  not  requiring  such  separation.  Such  an  act  was 
adopted  in  1875  by  Tennessee  and  by  Delaware,  the  latter  including 
boats. 

The  first  state  to  adopt  a  permanent  law  requiring  separation  in 
railroad  trains  was  Tennessee,  which  in  1881  adopted  a  law  in  many 
respects  similar  to  the  later  separate  coach  laws.  It  was  so  worded 
in  the  preamble,  however,  as  to  indicate  that  it  was  intended  for  the 
protection  of  the  colored  race.  The  preamble  recited  that  railroad 
companies  had  been  in  the  practice  of  charging  the  colored  passen 
gers  first  class  fare  and  compelling  them  to  occupy  second  class  cars 
where  smoking  was  allowed  and  where  there  was  vulgar  or  obscene 
language.  The  act  then  required  that  railroad  companies  should 
furnish  separate  cars  or  separate  apartments,  for  all  colored  pas 
sengers  paying  the  first  class  rate  of  fare.  These  apartments  were 
to  be  equal  in  all  respects  to  the  first  class  cars,  and  were  to  be  sub 
ject  to  their  rules  in  regard  to  smoking  and  obscene  language.  It 
will  be  noticed  that  the  penalty  consisted  of  a  fine  of  three  hundred 
dollars  to  go  to  the  common  school  fund,  which  could  be  recovered 
by  suit  of  the  superintendent  of  public  instruction  of  the  county 
concerned. 

The  example  of  Tennessee  was  followed  six  years  later  by  Florida, 
which  was  the  original  state  to  enact  a  separate  coach  law,  the 
Tennessee  act  apparently  being  in  the  minds  of  the  legislators. 
The  law  was  drawn  in  terms  which  provided  for  the  protection  of 
the  negro  race.  It  required  railroad  companies  to  sell  first  class 
tickets  to  negroes  at  the  same  rate  as  to  white  persons  and  to  give 
them  equal  accommodations.  No  white  person  was  allowed  to  ride 
in  a  car  for  negroes  or  to  insult  or  annoy  any  negro  in  the  car.  No 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  17 

negro  was  allowed  in  any  car  for  whites.  This  law  was  not  yet  in  the 
fully  developed  form  which  appeared  at  a  somewhat  later  period, 
and  it  had  not  eliminated  the  statement  of  a  desire  to  protect  the 
colored  race  as  well  as  to  enforce  its  separation.  The  following  year 
the  state  of  Mississippi  again  followed  the  example  of  Florida,  and 
enacted  a  separate  coach  law.  This  law  did  not  follow  the  act  of 
Florida  in  reciting  provisions  for  the  protection  of  the  colored  race 
and  is  much  more  closely  in  the  form  of  later  legislation,  though 
not  so  fully  developed.  It  is  notable  because  it  is  the  first  law 
having  any  provision  as  to  separation  of  the  races  in  railway  stations. 
This  was  not  required,  but  the  railroad  commission  was  authorized 
to  provide  separate  rooms,  in  their  discretion.  A  year  later,  in  1889, 
Texas,  which  was  the  third  state  to  pass  a  separate  coach  law  in  the 
previous  period,  again  occupied  the  same  position  in  this  group,  and 
enacted  a  statute  which  was  passed  by  the  legislature  under  sus 
pended  rule  on  account  of  the  need  of  haste. 

In  the  period  from  1887  to  1894,  in  addition  to  the  states  already 
named,  separate  coach  laws  were  also  enacted  by  Louisiana,  Ala 
bama,  Arkansas,  Georgia  and  Kentucky.  These  laws  require  no 
special  comment  except  that  Louisiana  and  Arkansas  both  required 
separation  in  railway  stations,  and  Georgia  included  in  its  law 
electric  and  street  cars,  in  which  separation  of  passengers  in  the 
seats  was  required  as  far  as  practicable.  This  was  the  first  appear 
ance  of  the  later  laws  requiring  separation  on  electric  and  street 
railways. 

After  1894  there  was  a  period  of  four  years  during  which  no 
legislation  was  enacted.  In  1898  the  subject  again  received  atten 
tion,  and  the  remaining  Southern  states,  with  the  exception  of 
Delaware  and  Missouri,  adopted  laws  similar  to  those  of  the  earlier 
states,  except  that  in  most  cases  they  were  in  fuller  and  more  devel 
oped  form.  Many  of  the  states  also  strengthened  their  previous 
legislation.  This  period  was  also  marked  by  the  extension  of  the 
requirement  of  separation  on  electric  and  street  railways. 

While  the  provisions  of  the  laws  requiring  separation  of  the  races 
by  railroads  differ  somewhat  in  detail,  yet  in  their  general  terms 
they  are  alike.  They  require  separation  by  means  of  either  entirely 
separate  cars  for  each  race,  or  by  means  of  a  partition  dividing  a 
car  into  compartments,  one  for  each  race.  In  almost  every  case 
the  railroad  is  allowed  to  use  either  one  of  these  methods.  It  will 


1 8  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

be  noted  that  the  state  of  South  Carolina,  however,  requires  sep 
arate  cars  only,  in  its  law  of  1900,  and  Maryland  requires  separate 
cars  only  in  certain  counties,  by  law  of  1908.  The  partition  is 
required  to  be  substantial,  the  law  often  stating  that  it  must 
be  made  of  wood.  Most  of  the  states  also  have  the  requirement 
that  the  separate  compartment  must  be  labelled  or  marked  with 
a  sign  indicating  for  which  race  it  is  intended.  The  laws  all  provide 
that  the  accommodations  for  each  race  must  be  equal,  and  that 
there  must  be  no  discrimination  therein  between  races. 

Street  railway  transportation  developed  generally  later  than  rail 
roads,  and  the  legislation  referring  to  it  would  be  expected  at  a  later 
period  than  railroad  legislation.  The  first  statute  containing  this 
requirement,  however,  was  that  of  Georgia  in  1891,  which  remained 
isolated  until  1901  and  1902,  when  statutes  of  limited  application 
appeared  in  Virginia.  By  a  limited  law  is  meant  one  not  applying 
to  all  the  street  railways  of  the  state,  the  laws  of  Tennessee  and  South 
Carolina  being  also  of  this  class.  The  next  statute  requiring  general 
separation  upon  street  railways  was  adopted  by  Louisiana  in  1902, 
and  provided  that  all  street  railways  must  furnish  separate  but 
equal  accommodations.  This  was  followed  in  rapid  succession,  in 
the  order  named,  by  Arkansas,  a  limited  law  in  Tennessee,  Missis 
sippi,  Florida,  South  Carolina,  a  general  law  in  Tennessee,  a  general 
law  in  Virginia,  Texas,  Oklahoma,  and  Maryland. 

The  provisions  of  these  statutes  usually  require  that  the  street 
railway  shall  maintain  either  two  cars  or  else  one  car  divided  by  a 
partition,  which  is  not  generally  required  to  be  of  wood  but  which 
may  consist  of  a  wire  screen,  while  in  some  cases  a  mere  sign  placed 
at  the  dividing  point  is  sufficient.  In  a  few  cases  simple  separation 
in  the  seats  of  the  car  is  required. 

Sleeping  and  chair  cars  have  been  included  in  the  separation 
requirement  of  some  states.  Texas  and  Oklahoma  have  required 
complete  separation  in  all  such  cars,  and  Georgia  has  added  the 
further  provision  that  nothing  in  the  act  shall  compel  sleeping  car 
companies  to  carry  persons  of  color  in  their  cars.  The  last  statute 
to  this  effect  was  that  of  Texas  in  1914,  which  provided  that  the 
porter  of  no  sleeping  car  shall  be  allowed  to  sleep  in  any  empty 
berth  which  is  intended  for  the  use  of  white  persons,  and  also 
forbids  him  to  use  the  same  bedding  as  is  kept  for  the  use  of  white 
persons. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  19 

In  addition  to  separation  in  railroad  coaches  and  cars  of  electric 
and  street  railways,  there  are  also  certain  other  forms  of  separation 
connected  with  transportation.  Six  states  have  required  separation 
in  railroad  stations,  either  in  the  waiting  rooms,  or  in  the  waiting 
rooms  and  other  facilities  of  the  station.  The  first  state  which 
enacted  such  a  requirement,  as  already  seen,  was  Mississippi,  which 
in  1888  authorized  such  separation.  The  separation  was  afterward 
made  compulsory.  The  next  state  to  enact  similar  legislation  was 
Arkansas  in  1893.  Following  this  came  Virginia,  in  a  law  which 
allowed  the  establishment  of  separate  waiting  rooms  in  all  stations, 
and  compelled  separate  waiting  rooms  at  wharves  with  certain 
exceptions,  and  next  Florida,  Oklahoma,  and  Texas.  South  Carolina 
has  not  required  separation  in  the  waiting  rooms  of  railroad  stations 
by  its  law,  but  in  1906  enacted  a  statute  requiring  separation  in 
restaurants  and  eating  houses  of  railroad  stations.  Separation  is  in 
fact  provided,  although  without  legislative  requirement,  in  the  dif 
ferent  Southern  states. 

Separation  upon  boats  and  steamboats  has  also  been  required  by 
four  states,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and  South  Caro 
lina.  These  states  all  have  more  or  less  water  traffic,  for  which 
reason  such  a  law  was  natural  as  a  supplement  to  the  separate  coach 
laws  of  these  states.  The  South  Carolina  law  provided  that  "all 
steam  ferries"  should  have  separate  accommodations.  This  ap 
parently  covered  the  boats  carrying  passengers  within  state  waters, 
and  was  in  effect  the  same  as  the  laws  of  the  other  states  named. 
In  addition  to  these  states,  Delaware  in  1875  allowed  separation  on 
boats,  though  not  requiring  it.  These  states  are  all  contiguous  and 
occupy  what  may  be  called  the  northern  portion  of  the  southern 
section  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard.  Other  Southern  states,  although 
having  considerable  water  transportation,  which  have  not  enacted 
any  such  provision,  are  Florida,  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  and  Texas. 

CIVIL  RIGHTS 

Legislation  restricting  or  tending  to  restrict  the  negro  in  regard 
to  certain  of  his  civil  rights  has  been  enacted  in  four  Southern  states. 
Such  a  provision  may  be  termed  an  Anti-Civil-Rights  law.  All  of 
this  legislation  was  enacted  between  1866  and  1876,  inclusive. 

The  first  statute  of  this  nature  appeared  in  the  Florida  act  of 
1866  which  in  addition  to  prohibiting  colored  people  from  intruding 


2O  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

into  a  railroad  car  for  whites  also  prohibited  them  from  intruding 
themselves  into  any  public  assembly  of  white  persons.  This  provi 
sion  while  in  the  nature  of  an  Anti-Civil-Rights  law  is  very  brief  com 
pared  to  other  and  later  enactments.  Delaware  passed  a  resolution 
in  1873  declaring  opposition  to  the  proposed  Act  of  Congress  known 
as  the  Supplemental  Civil  Rights  Bill  and  all  other  measures  in 
tended  to  equalize  the  negro  race  with  the  white  race.  It  also  pro 
claimed  unceasing  opposition  to  the  admission  of  negroes  on  terms 
of  equality  with  white  people  to  public  conveyances,  places  of 
amusement  and  other  places.  Two  years  later  Delaware  passed 
another  statute  to  the  effect  that  no  keeper  of  any  place  of  public 
entertainment  or  refreshment,  no  proprietor  of  any  public  place  or 
amusement,  and  no  common  carrier,  were  required  to  admit  any 
person  whose  presence  would  be  offensive  to  the  major  part  of  the 
patrons  of  the  place.  It  has  never  been  repealed  and  still  appears 
upon  the  statute  books  of  Delaware  although  in  effect  probably  a 
dead  letter.  In  the  same  year  Tennessee  passed  an  Anti-Civil-Rights 
law  still  more  comprehensive  in  terms.  It  abrogated  the  rule  of 
common  law  giving  a  right  of  action  to  any  person  excluded  from 
any  hotel,  public  means  of  transportation,  or  place  of  amusement. 
It  provided  that  no  keeper  of  any  hotel,  common  carrier,  or  keeper  of 
a  place  of  amusement,  should  be  under  any  obligation  to  admit  any 
person  whom  he  should  for  any  reason  whatever  choose  not  to  admit, 
and  that  the  keepers  of  such  places,  including  common  carriers, 
should  have  the  same  right  to  control  admission  as  that  of  any  person 
over  his  private  house.  This  statute  was  intended  to  avoid  the 
effect  of  the  Federal  Civil  Rights  law  of  1875.  It  attempted  to  do 
this  not  by  creating  any  distinction  between  the  white  and  colored 
race,  but  by  making  places  formerly  public  into  private  places  as 
far  as  the  control  of  their  managers  is  concerned.  This  applied  to 
all  people  alike,  and  separation  was  secured  by  the  action  of  the 
manager  of  each  place.  While  this  law  has  never  been  formally 
repealed,  it  has  been  in  part  superseded  by  the  separate  coach  legis 
lation  of  the  state,  and  in  part  has  become  a  dead  letter. 

One  more  law  in  the  nature  of  an  Anti-Civil-Rights  statute  re 
quires  mention.  It  is  a  resolution  of  the  legislature  of  North  Caro 
lina,  passed  in  1876.  It  made  no  change  in  the  operation  of  the  law 
of  the  state.  It  simply  declared  the  repugnance  of  the  General 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  21 

Assembly  of  the  state  to  the  "Absurd  attempts,  by  means  of  Civil 
Rights  Bills,  to  eradicate  certain  race  distinctions." 

SEGREGATION 

By  the  term  segregation  is  meant  the  restriction  or  limiting  of 
certain  portions  or  districts  of  a  city  or  community  in  their  use  by 
both  races  jointly.  In  one  sense  all  separation  is  segregation,  but 
the  term  has  come  to  be  employed  generally  with  the  significance 
given  above,  and  it  is  therefore  so  used  here.  The  statutes  apply 
equally  to  negroes  and  white  persons,  for  otherwise  they  would  be 
invalid.  There  have  been  various  local  ordinances  concerning 
segregation,  in  different  communities. 

The  first  appearance  of  such  legislation  enacted  by  any  state  was 
the  Separate  Park  Law  of  Georgia,  adopted  in  1905.  This  was  per 
missive  only,  and  not  compulsory.  It  provided  that  any  park 
which  was  granted  to  a  Municipal  Corporation  by  the  owner  of  the 
land  might  in  the  conveyance  be  limited  to  the  use  of  one  race  only, 
thus  excluding  members  of  the  other  race.  It  also  provided  that  a 
Municipal  Corporation  might  accept  the  land  as  a  park  for  the 
exclusive  use  of  the  class  named.  It  need  not  be  said  that  the  holders 
of  city  real  estate  suitable  for  parks  were  in  most  cases  white  persons, 
and  that  the  act  was  likely  to  be  applied  with  reference  to  the  inclu 
sion  of  the  white  population  and  the  exclusion  of  the  colored. 

The  principle  of  segregation  appeared  in  more  developed  form  in 
Louisiana  in  1912,  in  an  act  which  authorized  Municipal  Corpora 
tions  to  withold  building  permits  for  erecting  houses  for  negroes  in  a 
white  community,  or  any  portion  of  a  community  inhabited  prin 
cipally  by  white  people.  The  same  provision  was  also  made  through 
out  as  to  colored  communities.  Such  a  house  could  only  be  built 
with  the  written  consent  of  the  majority  of  those  of  the  opposite 
race  in  the  portion  to  be  affected.  A  "white  community"  or  a  "negro 
community"  was  defined  to  mean  any  subdivision  or  portion  of  a 
town,  or  any  street,  inhabited  principally  by  members  of  the  one 
race.  In  case  of  violation  of  the  law,  not  only  was  a  heavy  fine  im 
posed,  but  the  municipality  was  given  the  right  to  remove  and  to 
destroy  the  building. 

In  the  same  year  Virginia  enacted  a  law  of  the  same  general  kind 
but  still  more  expanded,  to  prevent  not  only  erection  of  buildings 
for  negroes  in  the  white  district,  and  the  reverse,  but  also  to  prohibit 


22  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

the  residence  of  any  negro  in  a  white  district,  and  the  reverse.  The 
law  recited  that  public  morals  and  order  would  be  endangered  by 
the  residence  of  white  and  colored  people  in  close  proximity  to  each 
other,  and  directed  that  in  any  town  adopting  the  act,  the  entire 
area  should  be  divided  into  districts  known  as  "Segregation  Dis 
tricts."  It  required  the  preparation  of  a  map  showing  all  such  dis 
tricts,  and  showing  the  number  of  white  and  colored  persons  in  each 
segregation  district.  Every  district  containing  more  residents  of 
the  white  race  was  to  be  designated  as  a  white  district,  and  a  district 
containing  as  many,  or  more,  residents  of  the  colored  race  was  to  be 
designated  as  a  colored  district.  It  was  rendered  unlawful  for  any 
negro  not  already  residing  in  a  white  district  to  move  into  it,  either 
to  occupy  a  house  or  as  a  lodger  or  boarder,  the  only  exception 
being  in  the  case  of  servants  or  members  of  families  living  in  the 
district.  The  same  provision  was  made  as  to  negro  districts. 

MISCELLANEOUS  RESTRICTIVE  PROVISIONS 

In  addition  to  the  subjects  which  have  already  been  considered , 
concerning  which  restrictive  legislation  has  been  enacted,  there  are 
also  other  forms  of  restrictive  enactments  affecting  the  negro.  Many 
of  these  provisions  have  disappeared  from  the  law.  Others  were 
adopted  by  a  single  state  or  a  limited  number  of  states,  or  were 
otherwise  of  minor  importance.  This  section  will  take  up  in  the 
following  order  restrictions  upon  the  negro  concerning  testimony, 
practising  law,  jury  service,  suffrage,  state  troops,  homesteads, 
custody  of  white  children,  exciting  race  prejudice,  saloons,  care  of 
sick,  state  institutions.  Various  other  minor  provisions  have  been 
included  in  the  terms  of  several  enactments,  which  are  not  of  suffi 
cient  importance  to  justify  detailed  mention  in  this  summary. 

The  testimony  of  negroes,  in  legal  proceedings,  was  formerly 
restricted  in  a  number  of  states.  Prior  to  the  Civil  War  several  of 
the  Northern  states  adopted  provisions  in  their  statutes  which  for 
bade  the  testimony  of  a  negro  in  any  action  concerning  a  white 
person.  The  laws  varied  in  the  different  states,  but  in  substance 
they  were  similar,  and  require  no  detailed  analysis.  The  states 
were  Indiana,  Nebraska,  Nevada,  Ohio,  and  Oregon.  At  or  imme 
diately  following  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  a  few  Northern  states 
and  a  number  of  Southern  states  adopted  acts  restricting  the  testi 
mony  of  negroes  in  general  to  cases  in  which  white  men  were  not 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  23 

concerned,  or  else  in  which  white  persons  were  not  parties.  These 
states  were  Alabama,  Arkansas,  Florida,  Georgia,  Indiana,  Ken 
tucky,  Maryland,  Nevada,  Mississippi,  Tennessee,  Texas,  Wash 
ington,  and  Virginia. 

None  of  these  statutes  were  enacted  after  1866,  doubtless  on 
account  of  the  Federal  Civil  Rights  Act  of  that  year,  which  specifi 
cally  included  the  right  to  give  evidence.  All  such  statutes  have 
been  repealed  either  by  definite  enactment  or  by  omission,  and  in 
no  state  is  there  any  restriction  upon  negro  testimony,  all  restrictive 
provisions  referring  now  merely  to  general  credibility,  intelligence, 
and  similar  subjects. 

The  right  of  the  negro  to  practice  law  as  an  attorney  and  member 
of  the  bar  was  prohibited  by  statutory  enactment  in  two  states.  In 
Iowa  only  white  males  were  permitted  to  practice  until  1870.  In 
Maryland  admission  to  the  bar  was  limited  to  the  white  race  until 
1904,  when  the  restriction  was  omitted.  In  1914  the  state  adopted  a 
provision  opening  admission  to  the  bar  to  all  qualified  persons.  No 
restriction  upon  this  right  appears  in  any  state  at  the  present  time. 

The  right  of  a  negro  to  serve  as  a  juror  was  restricted  after  the 
Civil  War  by  Arkansas,  Mississippi  and  Tennessee.  The  other 
Southern  states  refused  in  fact  to  receive  negroes  upon  juries  gen 
erally.  The  Federal  Civil  Rights  Act  of  1875  contained  a  special 
clause,  which  is  still  in  force,  prohibiting  disqualifying  persons  from 
jury  service  on  account  of  color.  All  laws  to  the  contrary  in  these 
states  therefore  became  void. 

The  right  of  the  negro  to  the  ballot  was  withheld  before  the  year 
1870  by  the  Southern  states  and  many  of  the  Northern  states.  The 
only  Northern  states  allowing  the  ballot  to  the  negro  before  1865 
were  the  New  England  states  of  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont, 
Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island;  and  New  York  and  Wisconsin. 
The  latter  state  extended  suffrage  to  the  negro  in  an  act  of  1849 
which  provided  for  a  popular  election  on  the  question.  The  ma 
jority  of  the  votes  was  in  favor  of  negro  suffrage,  but  through  a 
misconception  of  the  law  it  was  declared  defeated.  In  1866  the 
courts  of  the  state  held  that  the  right  had  actually  been  conferred 
in  1849,  and  it  must  therefore  be  recognized  as  of  that  date,  although 
not  actually  enjoyed  by  the  colored  population  until  the  later  date. 
New  York  state  allowed  negro  suffrage  but  provided  higher  quali 
fications  for  negroes  than  for  white  citizens.  With  these  exceptions 


24  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

no  state  appears  to  have  extended  the  right  of  suffrage  to  the  negro 
until  the  close  of  the  Civil  War. 

Between  1865  and  1870,  the  date  of  the  Fifteenth  Amendment, 
four  more  states  and  territories,  all  neighboring  to  Wisconsin, 
granted  to  the  colored  race  the  right  to  vote.  They  were  Iowa, 
Minnesota,  and  North  Dakota  and  South  Dakota,  then  not  sep 
arated.  The  Reconstruction  constitutions  of  the  Secession  states 
provided  the  same. 

The  whole  question  of  the  restriction  of  suffrage  for  the  colored 
race  was  definitely  settled  by  the  Fifteenth  Amendment  in  1870. 
This  provided  that  the  right  of  any  citizen  of  the  United  States  to 
vote  should  not  be  denied  or  abridged  by  any  state  on  account  of 
color.  The  Fourteenth  Amendment  had  already  provided  for  the 
citizenship  of  the  negro.  .Subsequent  to  the  Fifteenth  Amendment, 
therefore,  no  law  was  valid  which  limited  the  right  of  the  negro  to 
vote,  and  automatically  all  the  existing  laws  were  made  void, 
whether  statutes  or  constitutional  provisions.  Since  1870  there 
have  been  no  restrictions  of  suffrage  by  any  laws  mentioning  the 
negro,  or  applying  in  terms  to  him.  Various  states  have  certain 
provisions  in  their  election  laws  which  apply  alike  to  both  races, 
but  which  in  operation  may,  in  fact,  bear  more  heavily  upon  the 
negro,  such  as  the  so-called  "grandfather  clauses,"  previously 
referred  to,  but  consideration  of  these  is  without  our  scope. 

The  service  of  negroes  in  state  troops  or  militia  has  been  restricted 
in  four  Southern  states.  Such  service  was  prohibited  or  abolished  by 
South  Carolina  in  1865,  Arkansas  in  1867  (in  a  statute  of  somewhat 
doubtful  application),  and  Georgia  in  1905.  North  Carolina  in 
1868  merely  provided  for  separation  of  negro  and  white  members 
of  the  militia. 

Restrictions  as  to  homesteads,  custody  of  white  children,  and 
exciting  race  prejudice,  are  as  follows.  Kentucky  in  its  Homestead 
Act  of  1865,  specially  provided  that  the  benefits  of  the  act  should 
not  apply  to  the  colored  race.  The  act  has  since  been  repealed. 
A  law  providing  that  no  white  child  should  be  permanently  placed 
in  the  custody  of  any  member  of  the  colored  race  was  enacted  in 
South  Carolina  in  1910.  The  act  did  not  apply  to  the  care  of  a 
white  child  by  servants  or  members  of  the  household,  but  to  the 
permanent  care  of  a  white  child  by  such  persons,  or  by  any  other 
members  of  the  negro  race.  The  law  is  still  in  force.  Exciting  race 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  25 

prejudice  or  antagonism  is  the  general  field  of  the  acts  of  two  states. 
Virginia  in  1877  prohibited  conspiracy  to  incite  the  colored  popula 
tion  to  insurrection,  or  similarly  the  white  population,  the  act  still 
being  retained  upon  the  current  statute  book.  Kentucky  in  1906 
rendered  it  unlawful  to  participate  in  any  play  based  upon  antago 
nism  alleged  formerly  to  exist  between  master  and  slave,  or  which 
would  excite  race  prejudice. 

Separation  in  saloons  was  required  in  Louisiana  in  1908,  in  an 
act  making  it  unlawful  for  any  place  serving  intoxicating  beverages 
to  permit  their  sale  for  consumption  on  the  premises  to  whites  and 
negroes  within  the  same  building.  It  will  be  noticed  that  this  refers 
not  to  the  same  bar-room  but  to  the  same  building. 

A  new  tendency  has  appeared  regarding  separation  in  the  care  of 
the  sick,  in  two  of  the  Southern  states.  North  Carolina  in  1915 
adopted  an  act  requiring  that  every  institution  for  the  care  of  the 
sick  in  the  state,  both  public  and  private,  should  provide  colored 
nurses  to  care  for  the  colored  patients,  a  fine  being  imposed  in  case 
of  violation  upon  the  organization  or  individual  offending.  In  the 
same  year  Alabama  adopted  a  much  more  stringent  law,  which 
rendered  it  unlawful  for  any  white  female  nurse  to  nurse  in  wards 
or  rooms  in  any  hospital  in  the  state,  whether  public  or  private,  in 
which  negro  men  are  placed.  This  rendered  it  unlawful  not  only 
for  a  white  nurse  to  care  for  a  colored  man,  but  also  for  a  white 
nurse  to  care  for  a  white  person  in  a  room  containing  a  negro  man. 
The  penalty  is  heavier  than  that  of  the  North  Carolina  act,  including 
possible  imprisonment  in  addition  to  fine.  These  two  laws  are 
significant  as  introducing  a  line  of  separation  which  has  not  before 
been  required  by  legal  enactment. 

Separation  of  negroes  and  white  persons  in  state  institutions  such 
as  prisons,  reformatories,  and  honies  for  the  blind  and  other  defec 
tives,  has  been  maintained  in  the  Southern  states  since  any  such 
activity  was  instituted,  in  general.  Separation  in  prisons,  reforma 
tories,  or  other  institutions,  has  been  either  recognized  or  required 
in  the  laws  of  Alabama,  Arkansas,  Florida,  Georgia,  Maryland, 
Mississippi,  North  Carolina,  and  South  Carolina.  Separation  in 
asylums  for  the  insane  is  either  recognized  or  required  in  the  laws 
of  Georgia,  Kentucky,  Louisiana,  Maryland,  Mississippi,  Tennessee, 
and  West  Virginia.  No  other  state  contains  any  such  legal  require 
ment. 


CHAPTER  III 

General  Development  of  Protective  Legislation 

This  chapter  will  treat  of  the  outstanding  features  of  the  develop 
ment  of  the  several  lines  of  protective  legislation,  in  the  states  taken 
together.  The  most  important  legislation  of  this  nature  is  civil 
rights  legislation.  It  is  the  most  common  form  of  state  protective 
legislation,  and  often  includes  various  provisions  in  a  single  act. 
After  considering  civil  rights  legislation,  other  protective  enact 
ments  will  be  taken  up,  concerning  education,  transportation,  life 
insurance  regulation,  jury  service,  and  miscellaneous  provisions. 
Some  of  these  subjects  are  included  within  certain  civil  rights  laws. 

CIVIL  RIGHTS 

The  term  "civil  rights"  refers  to  the  rights  possessed  by  an  indi 
vidual  under  the  civil  law,  and  the  civil  rights  legislation  of  the 
different  states  affecting  negroes  is  directed  to  securing  the  rights  of 
the  colored  race  under  the  civil  law. 

This  legislation  has  been  of  two  distinct  kinds,  one  referring  to 
such  rights  in  general,  and  the  second  referring  to  a  special  portion 
of  the  field.  The  first  class  of  legislation  is  that  protecting  the  negro 
in  his  general  rights  under  the  civil  law;  such  as  his  right  equally 
with  white  citizens  to  make  contracts,  to  hold  and  convey  both 
real  and  personal  property,  to  the  free  use  of  the  courts,  and  in 
general  to  all  measures  directed  toward  the  security  of  either  person 
or  property.  The  second  class  of  legislation  is  that  directed  specially 
toward  that  portion  of  the  field  which  consists  of  the  right  of  the 
negro  to  the  accommodations  of  places  of  public  resort,  with  some 
times  other  specific  additions.  In  order  to  understand  the  devel 
opment  of  such  legislation  in  the  United  States  it  will  be  necessary 
to  review  briefly  the  Federal  enactments  upon  the  subject.  Both 
classes  of  legislation  have  been  passed  by  Congress,  but  only  the 
second  class  has  in  general  been  passed  by  the  different  state 
legislatures. 

In  considering  Federal  enactments  concerning  the  first  class  of 
legislation,  just  referred  to,  it  is  necessary  first  to  speak  of  the 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  27 

Thirteenth  Amendment.  This  provided  that  neither  slavery  nor 
involuntary  servitude  should  exist  in  the  United  States.  At  first 
sight  this  may  not  seem  to  refer  to  rights  before  the  civil  law.  How 
far  it  extends  over  this  field  has  been  the  subject  of  many  court 
decisions,  holding  that  the  scope  of  this  amendment  was  wider  than 
merely  prohibiting  physical  slavery  as  an  institution,  and  that  it 
also  affected  civil  freedom.  This  point  will  be  found  developed 
more  fully  by  referring  to  the  Civil  Rights  Cases  of  1883,  and  exam 
ining  the  majority  and  minority  opinions. 

In  actual  practice  the  precise  scope  of  the  civil  rights  effect  of 
this  Amendment  has  not  proved  of  great  importance,  in  part  be 
cause  it  was  soon  followed  by  the  Civil  Rights  Act  of  1866.  This 
act  established  the  citizenship  of  all  negroes,  and  then  provided 
specially  that  regardless  of  race  and  color  all  citizens  should  be 
entitled  to  the  same  rights  under  the  civil  law,  especially  reciting 
the  right  of  making  contracts,  of  equality  in  the  courts,  of  inheriting, 
receiving,  holding  and  conveying  property  of  all  kinds,  and  in 
general  to  the  full  and  equal  benefit  of  all  laws  and  proceedings 
enjoyed  by  white  citizens.  This  act  belonged  to  the  first-named  class 
of  the  laws  concerning  civil  rights.  It  covered  the  whole  field  by 
broad  enactment.  It  also  provided  a  penalty  consisting  of  either 
fine  or  imprisonment,  or  both.  This  statute  was  passed  by  Congress 
over  the  veto  of  President  Johnson. 

The  subject  of  protection  of  the  colored  race  in  their  rights  before 
the  civil  law  was  of  such  importance  that  Congress  felt  it  should 
rest  upon  a  firmer  foundation  than  an  Act  of  Congress.  It  was 
also  desirable  to  remove  all  question  of  the  constitutionality  and 
validity  of  the  law  of  1866.  In  view  of  the  Dred  Scott  decision  it 
was  also  necessary  to  provide  for  the  citizenship  of  the  negro  race 
in  a  positive  and  certain  manner.  For  these  reasons,  Congress 
adopted,  in  the  same  year,  the  Fourteenth  Amendment,  which  was 
ratified  and  proclaimed  two  years  later.  This  amendment  was 
practically  identical  with  the  law  of  1866,  framed  in  terms  suitable 
for  the  Constitution.  It  provided  for  the  citizenship  of  all  persons 
either  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United  States.  It  next  recited  that 
no  state  should  either  make  any  law  or  enforce  any  existing  law  in 
abridgement  of  the  privileges  or  immunities  of  citizens,  nor  deny 
to  any  person  the  equal  protection  of  the  laws.  The  Fourteenth 
Amendment  did  not  refer  specifically  to  either  race,  color,  or  pre- 


28  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

vious  condition  of  servitude,  but  was  specially  directed  toward 
protection  of  the  negro,  as  has  been  held  by  the  courts  many 
times,  the  leading  case  upon  the  point  being  the  so-called  Slaughter- 
House  Cases  of  1872,  where  the  court  pronounced  that  the  recent 
Amendments,  the  Thirteenth,  Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth,  were  all 
specially  directed  toward  the  freedom  of  the  slave  race  and  the  pro 
tection  of  the  newly  made  free  men.  The  Fourteenth  Amendment, 
following  the  previous  law  of  1866,  established  the  general  rights  of 
the  colored  race  before  the  civil  law.  Many  decisions  in  interpreta 
tion  of  it  have  been  rendered,  which  have  both  applied  the  provisions 
of  the  amendment  to  many  specific  points  and  have  also  refused  to 
apply  them.  For  example,  it  has  been  held  that  the  exclusion  of 
negroes  from  juries  on  account  of  color  is  an  abridgement  of  the 
Fourteenth  Amendment.  On  the  other  hand  it  has  been  held 
that  separate  schools  for  children  of  different  races  do  not 
violate  it. 

Legislation  of  this  first  class,  as  above  referred  to,  appeared  in 
none  of  the  statutes  of  the  separate  states,  except  Connecticut.  The 
reason  for  this  was  the  sufficiency  of  these  statutory  and  constitu 
tional  provisions.  It  has  not  been  necessary  either  before  this  date 
or  subsequent  to  it  for  any  state  to  pass  a  measure  of  general 
application. 

When  we  examine  the  second  class  of  legislation,  or  that  providing 
for  protection  of  the  colored  race  in  enjoyment  of  the  accommo 
dations  of  places  of  public  resort,  the  case  is  quite  different.  The 
first  act  of  this  kind  appeared  in  Massachusetts  in  a  statute  of  1865. 
This  provided  simply  that  no  distinction  or  discrimination  on  ac 
count  of  race  should  be  lawful  in  any  licensed  inn,  public  place  of 
amusement,  public  conveyance,  or  public  meeting.  This  was 
previous  to  the  Civil  Rights  Act  of  1866  of  Congress.  It  was  fol 
lowed  in  1866  by  a  statute  very  similar  in  terms,  making  it  unlawful 
to  exclude  persons  from  or  restrict  them  in  any  licensed  public  place 
of  amusement,  public  conveyance,  public  meeting,  or  licensed  inn, 
except  for  good  cause.  This  omitted  the  reference  to  race  or  color 
and  made  the  law  general  in  its  application,  safeguarding  it  by  the 
clause  "except  for  good  cause."  It  will  be  noticed  that  these  two 
Civil  Rights  laws  of  Massachusetts  both  apply  to  public  convey 
ances,  and  in  this  respect  antedate  the  law  upon  that  subject  enacted 
in  1867  by  Pennsylvania. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  29 

During  the  Reconstruction  period  of  the  Southern  states,  a 
number  of  such  states  enacted  Civil  Rights  laws,  which  were  very 
full  and  stringent  in  their  terms.  South  Carolina  was  the  first  state 
so  to  provide,  being  followed  by  Louisiana,  Texas,  Arkansas, 
Florida  and  Mississippi.  Missouri  indeed  antedated  even  South 
Carolina  by  a  brief  and  ineffectual  clause  in  its  constitution  of 
1865,  but  it  enacted  no  subsequent  legislation.  The  longest  and 
most  stringent  of  these  acts  was  that  of  Arkansas.  All  of  these 
Southern  Civil  Rights  statutes  were  repealed  either  by  special 
enactment  to  that  effect  or  by  omission  from  the  Revised  Statutes 
of  their  states  after  the  end  of  the  Reconstruction  period,  except 
such  as  were  found  not  to  be  inconsistent  with  the  trend  of  later 
legislation,  through  later  interpretation  of  their  precise  terms. 

There  was  no  further  legislation  in  the  Northern  states  upon  this 
subject  until  1873,  when  New  York  adopted  a  Civil  Rights  Act 
somewhat  similar  to  that  of  Massachusetts,  but  in  a  fuller  and  more 
developed  form.  The  next  provision  was  in  New  York  again,  in 
1 88 1,  which  substantially  reenacted  the  earlier  provision,  and  pro 
hibited  discrimination  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  accommodations  of 
taverns,  public  conveyances,  and  places  of  public  resort  or  amuse 
ment,  because  of  race,  creed  or  color. 

Between  these  two  laws,  however,  came  the  Federal  Act  of  1875, 
known  as  the  Civil  Rights  Act  of  that  year.  This  followed  in  general 
terms  the  provisions  of  the  Massachusetts  and  the  New  York 
statutes.  It  contained  a  preamble  which  was  copied  by  the  laws 
of  several  states.  It  then  provided  that  all  persons  should  be  en 
titled  to  full  and  equal  enjoyment  of  the  accommodations  and  privi 
leges  of  inns,  public  conveyances  on  land  and  water,  theatres,  and 
other  places  of  public  amusement,  subject  only  to  conditions  applic 
able  alike  to  citizens  of  every  race.  The  penalty  for  violation  of  this 
law  was  both  a  forfeiture  to  the  person  aggrieved  and  fine  or  im 
prisonment  for  the  violator.  In  addition  to  these  general  provisions 
the  Civil  Rights  Act  of  1875  also  contained  a  clause  specially  pro 
hibiting  discrimination  in  jury  service. 

This  law  did  not  accomplish  its  purpose,  for  after  its  passage 
negroes  still  continued  to  be  excluded  from  places  of  public  resort. 
This  resulted  in  a  number  of  cases  appearing  in  the  courts,  finally 
culminating  in  the  so-called  Civil  Rights  Cases,  which  were  passed 
upon  by  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  in  1883.  These  cases 


30  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

arose  in  Missouri  and  Tennessee  in  the  South,  and  New  York, 
Kansas  and  California  in  the  North,  and  were  brought  for  denying 
to  negroes  the  accommodations  of  hotels,  theatres  and  railroads. 
The  New  York  case  was  for  discrimination  in  the  Grand  Opera 
House.  By  a  divided  vote  the  Supreme  Court  held  that  the  law  of 
1875,  insofar  as  it  applied  to  the  right  of  accommodation  of  the 
colored  race  in  places  of  public  resort,  was  unconstitutional  and 
therefore  void.  The  provision  as  to  discrimination  in  jury  service 
was  held  constitutional. 

This  decision  rendered  it  impossible  for  Congress  to  pass  any 
general  enactment  prohibiting  the  passage  of  laws  by  individual 
states  concerning  the  separation  of  negroes  in  places  of  public  resort. 
No  further  legislation  of  this  nature  therefore  appeared  among  the 
Federal  statutes.  All  further  legislation  in  this  portion  of  the 
field  was  thereby  thrown  into  the  jurisdiction  of  the  separate 
states. 

This  did  not  greatly  affect  legislation  appearing  in  the  Southern 
states,  for  the  reason  that  separation  in  places  of  public  resort  in 
most  cases  already  existed  and  was  enforced  by  the  power  of  custom 
and  the  influence  of  the  white  race.  It  was  followed,  however,  by 
enactments  requiring  separation  in  railroad  transportation.  These 
statutes  had  appeared  before,  but  their  general  adoption  came  after 
this  date,  the  Federal  law  of  1875  having  included  public  convey 
ances  on  land  or  water. 

The  effect  in  the  Northern  states  was  quite  different.  These 
states,  finding  that  the  negro  was  no  longer  protected  in  this  portion 
of  the  field  of  his  civil  rights  by  Federal  legislation,  proceeded  to 
enact  separate  state  laws  covering  the  same  ground  in  general.  The 
year  following  the  Supreme  Court  decision,  four  states  passed  such 
statutes,  being  followed  successively  by  a  large  number  of  others. 
Civil  Rights  laws  have  been  enacted  by  the  following  states;  Califor 
nia,  Colorado,  Connecticut,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Iowa,  Kansas,  Massa 
chusetts,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  Nebraska,  New  Jersey,  New  York, 
Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  Rhode  Island,  Washington  and  Wisconsin. 

The  Civil  Rights  laws  of  the  different  states  usually  contained 
certain  general  provisions,  and  also  certain  specific  references  under 
one  or  more  of  these  provisions.  The  general  provisions  of  the 
different  laws  are  very  similar.  The  specific  provisions  vary  con 
siderably  in  the  different  states. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  31 

In  regard  to  the  general  provisions,  the  laws  provide  that  all 
persons  shall  be  entitled  to  the  full  and  equal  accommodations  of 
inns,  public  conveyances  on  land  and  water,  and  places  of  public 
accommodation  or  amusement.  They  make  exception  of  conditions 
and  limitations  established  by  law  and  applicable  alike  to  all  citi 
zens,  without  regard  to  race,  color  or  previous  condition  of  servitude. 
They  all  carry  a  penalty  for  violation,  consisting  usually  of  either 
fine  or  imprisonment.  Many  of  the  laws  provide  a  forfeit  to  the 
person  aggrieved.  In  some  cases  the  payment  of  such  a  forfeit  is  a 
bar  to  criminal  prosecution,  and  the  reverse.  There  is  no  exception 
whatever  in  any  state  as  regards  the  insertion  of  the  clause  concern 
ing  places  of  public  amusement.  Every  state  except  California  has 
the  provision  concerning  public  conveyances.  The  provision  as  to 
inns  appears  also  in  the  laws  of  every  state  having  any  Civil  Rights 
enactment,  with  the  exception  of  Connecticut.  The  early  Civil 
Rights  act  of  Connecticut  was  drawn  in  different  terms  from  those 
of  the  other  states,  it  being  modelled  somewhat  after  the  terms  of 
the  Fourteenth  Amendment.  In  1905  Connecticut  passed  a  law 
resembling  those  of  other  states,  but  containing  only  clauses  of 
general  application.  Inns  would  no  doubt  be  regarded  as  included 
under  its  clause  "Any  place  of  public  accommodation." 

In  regard  to  the  specific  references,  the  laws  of  every  state  with 
the  exception  of  Connecticut,  whose  law  as  just  said  contained  only 
general  provisions,  and  New  Jersey  and  Rhode  Island,  all  forbade 
distinction  in  eating  houses  by  appropriate  words.  One  or  more  of 
such  terms  are  used  as  restaurants,  chop  houses,  eating  houses,  lunch 
counters,  boarding  houses,  etc.  This  point  may  be  covered  in  both 
New  Jersey  and  Rhode  Island  by  the  word  inns.  All  of  the  states 
except  Connecticut,  Kansas,  Rhode  Island  and  Wisconsin,  also 
specifically  mentioned  theatres,  following  the  Federal  Civil  Rights 
Act  of  1875  in  this  respect.  Special  mention  of  theatres  seems  un 
necessary,  as  they  are  undoubtedly  included  in  places  of  public 
amusement,  which  were  covered  by  every  law.  It  is  interesting  to 
note  that  the  laws  of  all  the  states  except  five,  namely  Connecticut, 
Kansas,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  Rhode  Island,  also  specifi 
cally  included  barber  shops.  Court  decisions  have  held  in  several 
states  that  these  were  not  included  under  the  term  places  of  public 
accommodation,  and  herein  is  probably  the  reason  for  the  general 
inclusion  of  them  in  the  laws.  Various  other  specific  places  were 


32  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

included  occasionally,  such  as  music  halls,  skating  rinks,  ice  cream 
parlors  and  soda  fountains,  elevators,  public  meetings,  etc.  These 
were  simply  amplifications  of  the  general  provisions  of  the  law, 
inserted  to  meet  local  necessities.  Saloons  were  included  in  the 
laws  of  Minnesota  and  Wisconsin  and  no  distinction  is  allowed 
therein  in  those  states.  Colorado  at  one  time  prohibited  discrimi 
nation  in  churches,  but  this  provision  disappeared  in  a  later 
statute. 

EDUCATION 

Legislation  forbidding  separation  in  schools  or  in  education  was 
adopted  almost  exclusively  after  the  Civil  War.  Only  one  state 
adopted  a  clear  provision  to  that  effect  before  that  time,  namely 
Massachusetts,  while  Iowa  adopted  legislation  somewhat  doubtful 
in  effect.  Massachusetts  in  1855  enacted  a  statute  which  prohibited 
distinction  or  exclusion  from  any  public  school  on  account  of  race, 
color,  or  religious  opinion.  The  right  to  recover  damages  was  given 
for  any  child  so  excluded.  Iowa  in  its  constitution  of  1857  directed 
the  education  of  "all  the  youths  of  the  state."  A  restrictive  statute 
was  adopted  soon  after,  which  was  held  void  on  the  ground  that  the 
terms  of  the  constitution  rendered  it  unlawful  to  exclude  colored 
children  from  public  schools  or  to  compel  them  to  attend  separate 
schools. 

In  the  Reconstruction  period  two  Southern  states  in  1868  adopted 
in  their  constitutions  provisions  forbidding  separate  institutions  of 
learning.  South  Carolina  provided  that  all  public  schools  and  in 
stitutions  of  learning  supported  in  whole  or  in  part  by  the  public 
funds  should  be  open  to  all  students  without  regard  to  race  or  color. 
Louisiana  provided  that  no  separate  institution  of  learning 
should  be  established  exclusively  for  any  race.  Both  of  these 
provisions  were  afterward  omitted  from  the  law  without  formal 
repealing. 

It  was  more  than  fifteen  years  after  Massachusetts  adopted  its 
law  before  any  further  state  than  those  named  followed  its  example. 
In  1871  Michigan  enacted  a  requirement  somewhat  similar  in  effect. 
In  1873  New  York  and  in  1874  Kansas  adopted  in  their  civil  rights 
lawTs  a  prohibition  of  discrimination  in  public  schools.  Kansas, 
however,  later  allowed  separation,  as  mentioned  elsewhere.  From 
time  to  time  different  states  later  adopted  similar  provisions,  none 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  33 

of  them  being  Southern  states.  The  states  having  laws  prohibiting 
exclusion  or  discrimination  in  public  schools  are  Colorado,  Idaho, 
Illinois,  Iowa,  Massachusetts,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  Montana,  New 
Jersey,  New  Mexico,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Rhode  Island,  and 
Utah. 

Separation  in  education  was  previously  either  permitted  or  re 
quired  in  three  of  these  states,  New  York,  Montana,  and  Pennsyl 
vania,  which  have  thus  reversed  completely  their  earlier  policy. 
Nevada,  Ohio,  and  California  have  simply  omitted  former  separa 
tion  requirements. 

Absolute  prohibition  of  any  compulsory  separation  in  schools  is 
not  inconsistent  with  voluntary  separation  on  the  part  of  the  negro 
himself.  An  example  of  this  is  found  in  New  York,  whose  law 
specifically  provides  that  no  person  shall  be  refused  admission  into 
or  be  excluded  from  any  public  school  on  account  of  race  or  color. 
Side  by  side,  with  this  the  law  also  provides  a  method  of  establish 
ment  of  separate  schools  for  the  instruction  of  colored  children  in  a 
school  district.  Where  such  a  school  is  established,  as  is  the 
case  in  New  York  City,  the  negro  children  are  under  no  legal 
compulsion  to  attend  it.  Such  separate  schools  therefore  exist 
in  New  York  from  no  compulsion  in  the  law,  but  through  the 
consent  of  the  colored  children  themselves  and  their  parents  and 
guardians. 

Only  one  Northern  state  having  adopted  a  prohibition  of  sepa 
ration  in  education  has  ever  repealed  the  law,  namely,  Arizona, 
which  in  1909  took  such  action  after  only  eight  years  experience 
with  the  act,  and  now  permits  separation.  Kansas,  which  formerly 
forbade  separation,  without  repealing  its  previous  law  now  allows 
separation  in  limited  form.  Wyoming  had  no  legislation  in  regard 
to  this  until  1887,  when  it  adopted  a  law  requiring  separation. 

TRANSPORTATION 

Provisions  protecting  the  negro  in  his  use  of  public  conveyances 
and  prohibiting  discrimination  have  been  enacted  in  a  number  of 
states.  The  first  appearance  of  such  legislation  was  in  1865,  when 
Massachusetts  in  its  Civil  Rights  law  of  that  year  included  public 
conveyances,  thereby  prohibiting  restriction  in  them  on  account  of 
color.  A  general  provision  of  the  constitution  of  1857  of  Iowa  was 
later  construed  by  the  state  courts  as  prohibiting  separation  in 


34  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

transportation,  but  this  cannot  be  called  a  law  concerning  trans 
portation.  Following  the  brief  provision  of  Massachusetts,  the  next 
enactment  appeared  in  1861  in  Pennsylvania,  which  state,  influenced 
possibly  by  the  separation  legislation  just  adopted  by  three  Southern 
states,  enacted  a  requirement  to  the  opposite  effect.  It  prohibited 
any  railroad  from  excluding  any  person  from  its  cars  on  account  of 
race  or  color,  or  from  attempting  to  compel  any  person  to  occupy 
any  particular  part  of  a  car  for  the  same  reason,  and  imposed  a 
forfeit  of  five  hundred  dollars  to  be  paid  to  the  person  aggrieved,  in 
addition  to  a  penalty  upon  the  railroad  agent  committing  the 
offence. 

A  number  of  the  Southern  states,  possibly  following  the  example 
of  Pennsylvania,  within  the  next  five  years  enacted  laws  prohibiting 
discrimination  in  public  conveyances.  Louisiana  in  its  Civil  Rights 
law  of  1869  inserted  an  extended  provision  with  the  somewhat 
curious  wording  that  common  carriers  should  have  the  right  to 
refuse  to  admit  any  person  to  their  cars  or  other  vehicles,  when 
guilty  of  disorderly  conduct  or  of  a  breach  of  the  regulations  of  the 
company,  providing  that  the  regulations  made  no  discrimination 
on  account  of  race  or  color.  This  law  was  probably  intended  as  a 
prohibition  of  separation  in  public  transportation.  It  will  be  seen 
by  an  examination  of  its  wording  that  it  did  not  in  fact  establish 
this,  and  accordingly  the  law  has  never  been  repealed  but  still 
remains  in  the  statute  books  of  the  state.  In  the  same  year  Miss 
issippi  adopted  in  its  Reconstruction  constitution  a  clause  forbidding 
the  infringing  of  the  rights  of  all  citizens  to  travel  upon  all  public 
conveyances.  During  the  following  years  of  the  Reconstruction 
period  Georgia  also  prohibited  separation  in  transportation,  and  the 
early  separation  laws  of  Florida  and  Texas  were  likewise  replaced 
by  specific  provisions  against  separation.  Arkansas  also  adopted  a 
provision  against  such  separation.  All  of  these  laws  later  disap 
peared,  except  that  of  Mississippi. 

The  further  development  of  the  prohibition  of  separation  in 
transportation  came  through  the  Civil  Rights  laws  of  the  various 
states.  No  further  state  adopted  a  separate  provision  to  such 
effect,  except  as  above  stated.  Every  state  which  has  a  Civil 
Rights  law,  with  the  single  exception  of  California,  has  included  in 
it  public  vehicles  or  equivalent  words,  thereby  prohibiting  restric 
tion  or  discrimination  therein. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  35 

MISCELLANEOUS  PROTECTIVE  PROVISIONS 

In  addition  to  the  protective  legislation  already  considered, 
various  other  protective  provisions  are  of  sufficient  importance  to 
justify  mention,  including  enactments  concerning  life  insurance, 
state  troops,  jury  service,  testimony,  practising  law,  suffrage,  ad 
ministration  of  charity,  and  minor  provisions. 

Protective  legislation  prohibiting  discrimination  or  restriction  by 
life  insurance  companies  in  the  issuance  of  policies  was  adopted  in 
several  states.  Massachusetts,  which  was  the  first  state  to  enact  a 
Civil  Rights  law,  was  also  in  1884  the  first  state  to  enact  the  pro 
hibition  of  this  form  of  discrimination.  This  was  followed  in  turn 
by  statutes  of  Connecticut,  Ohio,  New  York,  and  Michigan,  the 
last  named  in  1893,  since  which  time  no  further  legislation  of  this 
kind  has  been  adopted.  The  laws  of  these  states  were  very  similar. 
They  prohibited  any  life  insurance  company  from  making  any  dis 
tinction  between  white  and  colored  persons  in  premium  or  rates, 
and  forbade  the  company  to  add  any  stipulation  by  which  a  sum 
less  than  the  face  value  of  the  policy  might  be  paid  upon  it.  In 
some  cases  if  any  colored  person  was  refused,  the  company  when 
requested  was  required  to  issue  to  him  a  certificate  of  the  examining 
physician  certifying  that  the  refusal  was  not  on  account  of  the  race 
of  the  applicant.  These  provisions  were  not  incorporated  into  the 
Civil  Rights  laws  of  the  respective  states,  but  enacted  in  separate 
form. 

Negroes  have  been  specially  recognized  in  the  state  troops  or 
militia  in  several  states.  Connecticut  in  1879  authorized  the  or 
ganization  of  four  companies  of  infantry  to  be  composed  of  colored 
men.  These  companies  were  to  be  independent  and  not  attached 
to  any  existing  regiment,  unless  in  case  of  actual  military  service. 
This  was  a  recognition  of  colored  companies  already  existing  in 
Connecticut.  In  1883  reenacting  and  modifying  its  law  as  to  militia, 
the  state  repealed  the  militia  law  of  1879,  but  specially  provided 
that  this  should  not  affect  the  organization  of  the  colored  companies 
of  infantry.  New  York  state  at  the  early  date  of  1814  authorized 
the  governor  to  raise  two  regiments  of  free  men  of  color,  for  the 
defence  of  the  state.  The  regiments  were  to  be  formed  into  a 
brigade.  All  commissioned  officers  of  the  company  were  directed 
to  be  white  men.  Almost  one  hundred  years  later  in  1913  New  York 
again  provided  for  an  additional  colored  regiment  of  infantry  in 


36  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

the  City  of  New  York,  which  was  to  be  a  part  of  the  National  Guard 
of  the  state,  subject  in  all  respects  to  their  regulations.  No  pro 
vision  as  to  the  officers  of  this  regiment  being  either  white  or  colored 
appeared.  New  Jersey  in  1895  provided  that  there  should  be  or 
ganized  four  companies  of  colored  infantry  in  that  state,  which  were 
to  be  separate  companies,  but  incorporated  in  the  regular  militia. 
Michigan  in  1901  provided  that  if  more  than  forty  companies  of 
infantry  were  organized,  at  least  one  must  be  composed  of  colored 
men.  In  the  law  of  1905  referring  to  the  National  Guard,  no  specific 
mention  was  made  of  this  colored  company,  and  the  special  require 
ment  compelling  its  organization  therefore  apparently  disappeared 
from  the  laws  of  that  state.  Finally  in  1909  Indiana  adopted  an 
act  requiring  the  Adjutant  General  to  organize  a  battalion  of  colored 
infantry  as  part  of  the  Indiana  National  Guard. 

The  value  of  the  colored  man  as  a  soldier  has  long  been  established. 
The  colored  regiments  form  an  effective  part  of  the  military  organi 
zation  possessing  them.  The  only  question  involved  in  these  states 
was  whether  the  individual  colored  soldier  should  be  incorporated 
into  a  separate  regiment  or  company,  or  whether  he  should  be  dis 
tributed  throughout  the  other  troops  regardless  of  color.  It  is  not  a 
discrimination,  but  a  matter  of  some  interest  to  the  colored  race,  to 
be  able  to  maintain  colored  regiments,  and  to  prove  its  efficiency  in 
this  respect.  Membership  in  these  state  troops  is  voluntary.  Such 
statutes  in  the  Northern  states  are  therefore  not  discrimination 
against  the  negro,  but  may  be  called  instead  a  recognition  of  him. 

Discrimination  or  restriction  in  jury  service  has  been  forbidden 
by  several  states,  following  the  example  of  the  Federal  Civil  Rights 
law  of  1875.  The  provision  of  the  Federal  law  is  still  valid  and 
therefore  binding.  Nevertheless  these  states  have  made  the  matter 
doubly  sure  by  adopting  specific  prohibition  of  such  discrimination 
on  account  of  color.  The  states  which  adopted  such  a  provision 
were  Indiana,  Michigan,  New  Jersey,  New  York,  Ohio,  and  Rhode 
Island,  the  laws  all  being  adopted  in  1884  and  1885,  except  that  of 
New  York  in  1895. 

The  testimony  of  negroes  in  legal  proceedings  was  specially  pro 
tected  in  two  states,  Washington  and  West  Virginia,  which  each 
enacted  a  provision  in  1866  that  no  one  should  be  incompetent  as 
a  witness  on  account  of  color.  As  previously  said,  no  state  now 
prohibits  it. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  37 

The  right  to  practice  law  as  an  attorney  was  the  subject  of  a 
special  statute  in  Colorado,  which  in  1887  provided  that  no  person 
should  be  denied  such  right  on  account  of  either  race  or  sex.  There 
had  been  no  previous  restriction  on  account  of  color,  this  law  being 
purely  protective.  In  1870  Iowa  specially  extended  this  right  to 
members  of  all  races,  it  having  previously  been  restricted  to  white 
persons. 

Legislation  concerning  suffrage  has  been  referred  to  in  the  pre 
ceding  chapter.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  here  that  while  there  has  been 
legislation  granting  to  the  negro  the  right  of  the  ballot,  which  is 
there  mentioned  and  will  therefore  not  be  repeated  in  this  place, 
there  has  been  no  further  legislation  concerning  this  subject  which 
can  properly  be  called  protective,  with  the  possible  exception  of  an 
enactment  of  New  York  in  1870,  prohibiting  any  inspector  of  elec 
tions  from  making  any  demand  of  a  negro  different  from  that  of  a 
white  person. 

Discrimination  in  the  administration  of  the  charity  of  any  asso 
ciation  for  the  care  of  orphans  was  prohibited  in  an  act  of  Indiana, 
in  1879,  which  further  provided  that  associations  maintaining 
colored  orphan  asylums  should  be  entitled  to  the  allowance  provided 
for  in  the  case  of  any  orphan  children.  New  Jersey  in  1853  provided 
that  poor  colored  servants  were  to  be  treated  as  were  white  paupers. 
These  were  the  only  examples  found  of  reference  to  discrimination 
in  the  administering  of  charity  or  philanthropy. 

In  the  later  laws  of  New  York  there  are  several  provisions  worth 
comment.  In  1899  any  discrimination  was  prohibited  against  any 
person  or  class,  in  the  price  charged  for  admission  to  any  building, 
park,  or  other  place  or  enclosure,  which  was  open  to  the  public 
generally.  A  statute  in  1913  provided  with  considerable  detail  that 
no  place  of  public  accommodation  or  resort  should  refuse  its  accom 
modations  to  any  person,  or  advertise  in  any  way  the  fact  that  such 
accommodations  are  refused,  on  account  of  race,  creed,  or  color. 
The  production  of  such  communication  either  written  or  printed 
was  constituted  presumptive  violation  of  the  act.  Though  this 
statute  applied  to  the  negro  its  passage  was  supposed  to  have  been 
secured  by  the  Jewish  race,  which  had  been  discriminated  against 
in  certain  cases. 

Still  another  form  of  statute  concerning  the  colored  race  was 
adopted  in  1913  in  New  York,  which  created  an  Emancipation 


38  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

Proclamation  Commission  to  conduct  an  exhibition  and  celebration 
and  appropriating  $25,000  for  this  purpose.  In  1915  the  Governor 
was  authorized  to  appoint  five  commissioners  for  the  state  of  New 
York  to  the  National  Exposition  in  Richmond  in  that  year  to  cele 
brate  the  same  anniversary.  In  1915  Illinois  also  created  a  com 
mission  to  conduct  an  exhibition  and  celebration  in  commemoration 
of  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  emancipation  of  the  negro,  appro 
priating  likewise  $25,000  for  the  purpose.  These  laws  while  con 
ferring  no  rights  upon  the  negro,  were  evidences  of  the  interest  in 
the  emancipation  of  that  race  felt  by  the  states  concerned. 


CHAPTER  IV 

Social  Influences  Affecting  the  Legislation 

In  considering  the  course  of  legislation  in  the  different  states,  is  it 
possible  to  discover  any  fundamental  underlying  causes  for  the 
variation  in  legislation  in  the  several  states?  Can  any  principles  of 
action  be  formulated  determining  why  certain  states  enact  laws 
restricting  the  colored  race,  while  other  states  pass  laws  to  prevent 
such  restriction,  and  still  others  ignore  the  colored  question?  Is 
there  any  reason  for  a  separate  education  law  appearing  in  a  state 
where  no  separation  in  transportation  is  required,  or  in  another 
state  for  intermarriage  to  be  forbidden  while  separation  in  education 
is  not  required  or  is  even  actually  prohibited. 

In  examining  the  social  disturbance  created  in  society  by  the 
presence  within  it  of  a  group  dissimilar  in  nature  from  the  other 
members,  there  are  several  factors  to  be  considered.  The  effect  of 
such  a  group  will  be  great  or  small,  and  it  will  be  approved  or  dis 
approved  by  the  society  as  a  whole,  according  to  the  numerical  size 
of  the  group,  according  to  its  dissimilarity  from  the  rest,  according 
to  the  rapidity  of  the  process  of  assimilation,  according  to  the 
strength  of  the  group  spirit  and  group  unity,  according  to  the  pre 
vious  spirit  of  favor  or  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  other  members, 
according  to  the  activity  and  aggressiveness  of  the  group,  according 
to  its  power  in  controlling  the  other  members  and  according  to  the 
conflict  or  unity  of  interest  with  the  other  members.  This  is  not 
meant  to  be  a  complete  enumeration  of  all  possible  factors,  but  a 
statement  of  the  more  important  factors  governing  the  relationship 
of  an  alien  distinctive  group  in  the  midst  of  a  larger  social  body. 

Not  all  of  these  factors  are  of  importance  in  considering  the  posi 
tion  of  the  group  constituted  by  the  negro  race  amongst  the  body  of 
the  white  population  of  the  various  states.  The  factor  of  extent  of 
dissimilarity  is  substantially  uniform  in  the  different  states.  This 
is  not  wholly  one  of  social,  political  and  economic  ideals,  in  which 
regard  the  negro  race  has  fairly  closely  approached  those  members 
of  the  white  race  which  occupy  a  similar  social  and  economic  posi 
tion,  but  it  is  also  a  question  of  different  and  distinctive  race  ap- 


4O  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

pearance.  The  factor  of  rapidity  of  assimilation  is  also  substantially 
uniform  throughout  the  different  states,  because  for  the  above 
reason  this  is  chiefly  a  question  of  assimilation  in  race  appearance, 
which  is  a  process  of  marked  slowness,  accomplished  only  through 
the  amalgamation  of  the  races.  If  all  other  distinctive  character 
istics  were  lost,  the  difference  in  race  appearance  would  still  suffice 
to  set  apart  the  negro  race  in  a  distinct  and  dissimilar  group  in  a 
white  population,  because  negro  blood  is  generally  easily  recognized 
and  complete  assimilation  is  practically  impossible  for  at  least 
several  generations. 

The  factor  of  group  unity  is  also  one  which  does  not  greatly  affect 
the  treatment  of  the  negro  in  the  different  states,  for  the  reason  that 
such  group  unity  is  substantially  the  same  everywhere,  and  further 
because  in  fact  such  unity  is  inchoate,  disorganized,  and  without 
adequate  expression  either  for  themselves  or  others.  In  the  past 
history  of  the  negro  race  within  the  United  States  this  factor  has 
at  times  been  one  of  significance  and  importance,  but  it  is  not  at 
present  so. 

The  factor  of  the  numerical  size  of  the  negro  group  in  any  state 
is  commonly  accepted  as  the  decisive  cause  for  its  treatment  on  the 
part  of  the  state.  Most  writers  make  the  simple  statement  that 
where  the  negro  race  is  numerous  there  it  is  discriminated  against; 
and  where  it  is  small  in  numbers  compared  to  the  rest  of  the  popu 
lation  there  it  is  not  a  disturbing  element,  and  is  either  disregarded 
or  else  is  actively  protected.  A  quotation  expressing  this  view  is 
v-  the  following.1  "The  laws  and  customs  of  every  state  in  the  Union, 
from  the  beginning  until  this  good  hour,  have  been  influenced  by 
the  factor  of  the  relative  numerical  strength  of  the  negro.  .  .  . 
In  the  North  he  is  permitted  to  attend  schools  and  ride  in  cars  with 
white  people,  and  is  not  segregated  in  theatres,  because  as  yet  he  is 
not  numerically  strong  enough  to  be  personally  offensive  to  the 
white  population,  or  to  justify  the  expense  and  annoyance  which 
such  general  separation  entails  upon  the  white  man  himself." 

A  consideration  of  the  table  given  at  the  end  of  this  chapter  of 
the  negro  population  in  each  state,  showing  its  per  cent,  as  com 
pared  with  the  white  population  and  arrayed  in  accordance  thereto, 
will  make  it  difficult  to  accept  the  theory  that  the  relative  numerical 
strength  of  the  negro  in  a  state  determines  the  treatment  accorded 

1  A.  H.  Stone,  Studies  in  the  American  Race  Problem,  page  13. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  41 

to  him  by  the  state.  It  will  be  found  for  example  that  Washington 
with  a  negro  population  of  five-tenths  of  one  per  cent,  allows  inter 
marriage,  having  repealed  a  former  law  prohibiting  it;  while  Mon 
tana  with  the  same  per  cent,  of  negro  population  prohibits  inter 
marriage;  as  does  the  state  of  Idaho  which  has  two-tenths  of  one  per 
cent.,  or  less  than  half  of  the  negro  population  of  Washington,  its 
neighboring  state.  Indiana  and  Ohio  have  practically  the  same  per 
cent,  of  negroes,  yet  the  former  prohibits  intermarriage  while  the  lat 
ter  allows  it.  New  Jersey  with  three  and  five-tenths  per  cent,  allows 
intermarriage,  while  South  Dakota  with  one-tenth  of  one  per  cent, 
forbids  it.  The  same  thing  is  also  seen  in  considering  the  states 
which  have  enacted  Civil  Rights  laws.  There  is  a  group  of  states  in 
the  west,  the  numbers  of  whose  negro  population  do  not  exceed  one- 
tenth  of  one  per  cent.,  which  have  never  enacted  any  Civil  Rights 
legislation.  On  the  other  hand  there  are  a  number  of  the  Northern 
and  Eastern  states  whose  per  cent,  of  negro  population  varies  from 
one  per  cent,  to  three  and  five- tenths  per  cent.,  like  New  Jersey, 
which  have  adopted  Civil  Rights  laws.  In  the  same  way  in  consider 
ing  separation  in  schools,  the  fact  will  be  noted  that  with  the  excep 
tion  of  the  Southern  states  the  numerical  factor  cannot  be  discovered 
as  a  controlling  element. 

On  the  other  hand  it  is  plainly  evident  that  the  restrictive  legis 
lation  of  the  Southern  states,  which  is  found  in  all  of  them,  is  due 
to  the  very  large  per  cent,  of  negroes  within  their  borders.  Here 
again  however,  it  becomes  evident  that  this  cannot  be  the  sole  con 
trolling  factor.  Kentucky  with  a  little  over  eleven  per  cent,  and 
Texas  with  about  eighteen  per  cent,  contain  substantially  the  same 
restrictive  legislation  as  do  the  states  of  South  Carolina  and  Miss 
issippi  with  over  fifty-five  per  cent.  Yet  it  is  evident  that  the  chief 
difference  between  the  group  of  Southern  states  and  the  other 
states  of  the  country  is  found  in  the  large  negro  population  in  the 
former  group  as  a  whole. 

The  relative  numerical  strength  of  the  negro  may  accordingly  be 
accepted  as  a  factor,  but  as  only  one  factor  in  a  situation  evidently 
influenced  by  other  elements.  Where  there  is  an  overwhelming 
difference  in  numerical  strength  it  may  cause  this  factor  to  be  de 
cisive  ;  where  there  is  no  overwhelming  difference  other  factors  than 
this  are  evidently  those  which  control. 


42  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

The  next  factor  which  is  of  importance  to  consider  is  that  of  the 
previous  attitude  of  the  other  members  of  the  population  toward 
the  negro  group.  Here  will  be  found  an  element  which  has  had  an 
importance  only  second  to  that  of  numbers,  in  influencing  the 
course  of  legislation  in  the  different  states.  In  the  United  States 
there  have  been  two  different  forms  of  opinion  in  regard  to  the 
negro  race,  the  one  accustomed  to  negro  slavery  and  later  favoring 
restriction  of  the  race,  the  other  early  opposed  to  slavery  and  in 
favor  of  abolition,  and  desiring  not  only  to  refrain  from  imposing 
restrictions  upon  the  negro,  but  also  actively  to  protect  him  and 
his  rights.  The  one  form  of  opinion  and  sentiment  centered  in  the 
South.  The  other  type  of  opinion  had  its  center  in  the  North, 
especially  in  Massachusetts  and  New  York.  From  the  Eastern 
states  both  north  and  south  there  have  flowed  forth  streams  of  in 
fluence,  together  with  streams  of  actual  emigration,  throughout  the 
other  states  of  the  union.  Those  states  which  were  settled  largely 
by  Southerners,  or  which  were  otherwise  in  contact  with  southern 
influence  and  connected  by  economic,  social,  or  other  relations  with 
the  South,  have  swung  toward  the  southern  type  of  legislation. 
Those  states  which  have  been  largely  settled  by  northern  and  eastern 
emigrants  or  which  have  been  within  the  predominant  sphere  of 
influence  of  that  region  have  tended  to  adopt  legislation  of  a  corres 
ponding  type.  When  the  stream  of  influence  or  connection  has 
become  weakened  through  distance  or  otherwise,  as  is  the  case  in 
both  regions  in  certain  states,  there  a  partly  developed  form  of 
legislation  appears,  similar  to  its  influencing  cause  but  less  in  volume 
and  weakened  in  form.  Where  the  streams  of  northern  and  southern 
influence  have  met  in  a  state  and  have  been  in  conflict,  the  legislation 
concerning  the  negro  will  often  reflect  the  conflict,  and  will  indicate 
which  type  of  influence  succeeded  in  the  struggle  and  finally  pre 
dominated. 

For  examples  of  such  cases  one  may  cite  such  states  as  Montana, 
North  Dakota,  South  Dakota  and  Colorado,  which  belong  to  the 
northern  group  of  states,  but  whose  legislation  has  been  greatly 
weakened  in  this  respect  owing  to  their  geographical  distance  from 
the  northern  center  of  influence,  and  the  corresponding  weakening 
of  the  stream.  In  the  same  way  such  states  as  Arizona  and  New 
Mexico  show  the  southern  influence,  but  in  a  weakened  form.  New 
Mexico  being  located  close  to  a  third  focus  of  influence,  namely, 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  43 

Mexico,  affords  an  example  of  the  early  southern  influence  having 
been  overcome  by  the  effects  of  the  influence  of  the  population  of 
Mexican  blood.  In  such  states  as  Kansas  one  can  see  the  struggle  for 
predominance  between  northern  and  southern  influence,  the  north 
ern  predominating  but  not  quite  completely.  Both  Indiana  and 
Ohio  show  in  their  legislation  the  results  of  southern  immigration 
entering  the  southern  portions  of  the  state  and  in  conflict  with 
northern  immigration  coming  largely  into  the  northern  portion  of 
the  states.  Ohio,  however,  has  become  a  typical  northern  state, 
while  Indiana  still  shows  traces  of  its  southern  influence,  as  evi 
denced  in  its  permissive  separate  school  law  and  in  its  law  against 
intermarriage,  such  laws  in  Ohio  having  appeared  earlier  in  its  his 
tory  but  later  having  entirely  disappeared. 

It  must  be  recognized  therefore  that  this  factor  of  the  traditional 
attitude  toward  the  negro  group  of  the  other  portion  of  the  popula 
tion  is  of  almostequal  wreightwith  that  of  relative  numerical  strength. 

Beside  these  two  factors  there  is  also  a  third  one  whose  im 
portance  has  not  often  been  recognized.  This  is  the  factor  of  the 
power  possessed  by  the  negro  group.  Such  power  in  a  democracy 
is  not  expressed  in  terms  of  physical  or  military  strength  but  in 
terms  of  political  influence. 

In  the  Southern  states  the  negroes  did  not  possess  the  right  of 
suffrage,  until  this  was  conferred  upon  them  in  form  by  the  Fif 
teenth  Amendment  in  1870.  The  actual  effect  of  this  amendment 
was  not  to  place  the  actual  ballot  in  the  hand  of  every  negro.  At 
no  time  in  the  history  of  these  states,  except  briefly  and  in  limited 
form  during  Reconstruction,  has  the  negro  race  been  in  a  position 
to  enforce  its  desires  at  the  polls.  This  result  has  been  accom 
plished  in  part  through  the  moral  ascendancy  of  the  white  race 
over  the  colored  race  exercised  to  limit  its  use  of  the  ballot,  in  part 
by  such  restrictions  in  the  election  laws  as  tend  to  disenfranchise 
negroes  more  than  whites,  and  at  times  by  other  measures.  The 
large  group  of  the  colored  race  in  the  South  since  Reconstruction 
days  has  therefore  been  in  a  position  where  it  possessed  no  great 
power  of  the  only  kind  which  is  effective.  As  a  result,  there  has 
been  no  need  to  seek  to  secure  their  favorable  consideration  for  any 
measure  or  for  any  party. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  the  Northern  states  since  1870  the  negro  has 
everywhere  received  the  ballot  upon  terms  of  equality  with  the 


44  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

white  race.  The  result  of  this  is  that  where  his  numbers  have  been 
large  enough  in  the  community,  it  has  been  of  importance  to  the 
political  managers  of  the  different  political  groups  to  consult  his 
interests  and  to  endeavor  to  secure  his  cooperation.  The  effect  of 
this  is  to  reverse  the  influence  of  the  relative  numerical  strength  of 
the  colored  race.  In  the  South  numerical  strength  acts  to  handicap 
the  negro  and  to  increase  discriminations  against  him  in  legislation. 
In  the  Northern  states  where  the  negro  is  weak  in  numbers,  he  is 
thereby  weak  in  political  influence.  Where  he  is  strong  in  num 
bers  he  becomes  strong  in  political  influence.  In  some  states  his 
aid  and  support  is  actively  sought  at  election  time.  The  great 
political  parties  take  pains  to  plan  measures  for  securing  his  alle 
giance  and  his  favor.  Such  statutes  as  those  of  New  York  and 
Illinois  creating  an  emancipation  proclamation  commission  to  cele- 
,brate  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  emancipation,  show  not  only  a 
friendly  interest  in  the  colored  race,  but  also  reflect  a  desire  on  the 
part  of  the  party  in  power  to  win  his  political  support.  The  negro 
population  of  the  two  cities  of  Chicago  and  New  York,  which  is 
large  enough  to  be  of  marked  importance  at  election  time,  was  a 
factor  in  the  case  of  each  of  these  statutes. 

Where  the  negro  has  once  secured  the  ballot  it  may  prove  a  matter 
of  difficulty  to  withdraw  it  from  him  again.  This  has  been  the  his 
tory  of  the  extension  of  the  right  of  suffrage.  Once  conferred,  it  is 
only  with  difficulty  withdrawn.  This  will  probably  lead,  as  the 
negro  numbers  of  the  Northern  states  increase,  to  the  repeal 
of  some  of  the  existing  restrictions  affecting  him,  and  to  the  enact 
ment  of  further  laws  in  his  favor,  if  he  feels  such  are  desirable.  If 
the  negro  race  in  the  South  should  come  into  the  full  exercise  of  the 
franchise  it  would  probably  be  followed  by  alterations  in  the  present 
southern  legislation. 

The  further  factor  of  the  aggressiveness  of  the  group  concerned  is 
not  of  much  importance  in  considering  the  negro  problem.  Nowhere 
is  the  negro  at  present  aggressive  politically.  He  is  inclined  to  be 
docile  to  those  whom  he  recognizes  as  leaders.  He  shows  little  of 
the  political  talent  or  aptitude,  for  example,  of  the  Irish  race.  If 
the  negro  were  to  become  more  active  politically,  or  if  he  were 
directed  by  political  leaders  able  to  maintain  a  close  group  unity 
and  to  direct  aggressively  along  political  lines,  the  negro  would 
probably  secure  more  political  recognition  than  he  has  as  yet.  There 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  45 

is  one  possible  alternative  to  this,  in  that  the  present  comparative 
inactivity  of  the  negro  politically  disarms  any  hostility  which  might 
otherwise  be  aroused  on  the  part  of  the  white  race  if  the  negro 
becomes  too  aggressive  before  his  numbers  become  such  that  no 
white  political  leader  or  party  can  afford  to  oppose  him.  As  has 
just  been  said,  however,  the  position  of  those  writers  is  probably 
wrong  who  hold  that  an  increased  number  of  negroes  in  the  Northern 
states  will  automatically  lead  to  hostility  and  opposition  by  the 
mere  force  of  the  fact  of  such  numbers.  On  the  contrary,  their  in 
crease  may  result  in  increased  consideration  and  in  strengthened 
position,  unless  the  varying  white  interests  should  be  united  into  a 
compact  force  directed  against  the  colored  race.  As  the  negro  in 
the  North  increases  in  numbers  it  will  not  necessarily  prove  true 
that  proportionate  discrimination  against  him  will  arise. 

There  is  another  element  which  enters  into  the  question  of  the 
effect  on  legislation  in  the  different  states  of  the  factors  which  have 
just  been  considered.  The  different  subjects  of  legislation  are  not 
equally  affected  by  any  single  factor  of  those  mentioned.  Certain 
lines  of  legislation  are  more  responsive  to  relative  numerical  strength, 
while  others  are  affected  more  by  other  elements.  For  example, 
separation  in  transportation  is  obviously  more  connected  with  the 
numbers  of  the  negro  race  in  the  population,  or  to  be  more  accurate, 
their  numbers  in  the  travelling  portion  of  the  population.  Yet  this 
also  is  subject  to  modification  through  the  operation  of  other  factors. 
Oklahoma  with  a  comparatively  small  negro  population  required 
separation  in  the  waiting  rooms  of  all  railway  stations  throughout 
the  state,  fit  was  later  found  necessary  to  modify  this,  as  many 
small  places  in  the  state  had  no  negroes  whatever  and  it  was  impos 
sible  to  maintain  separate  waiting  rooms  which  would  never  be  used. 
The  law  against  intermarriage  is  not  greatly  affected  by  the  nu 
merical  strength  of  the  negro.  Its  adoption  evidently  depends  upon 
the  strength  of  the  sentiment  against  racial  admixture,  without 
primary  reference  to  the  volume  of  the  colored  race  in  the  state. 
Statutes  in  restriction  of  the  colored  race  may  be  ranked  in  accord 
ance  with  the  tendency  toward  their  adoption.  The  law  against 
intermarriage  is  not  only  usually  the  first  to  appear  chronologically, 
but  is  also  the  most  widespread.  Next  comes  separation  in  educa 
tion,  following  that,  separation  in  transportation,  and  thereafter 
miscellaneous  minor  provisions. 


46  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

In  considering  the  laws  of  the  Northern  states  in  protection  of  the 
colored  race,  the  factors  above  referred  to  can  be  seen  in  operation 
in  a  more  limited  way.  The  relative  numerical  strength  of  the 
colored  race  plays  no  part  whatever  in  securing  the  adoption  of  a 
Civil  Rights  law,  except,  as  would  be  expected,  by  reverse  effect. 
That  is,  the  states  located  in  the  North  which  have  the  largest 
proportion  of  the  colored  race  have  all  adopted  Civil  Rights  statutes. 
Those  states  which  have  not  yet  enacted  such  legislation  are  the 
states  where  the  colored  population  is  very  small  in  proportion. 

The  traditional  attitude  of  the  white  portion  of  the  population  is 
of  more  importance  in  determining  the  adoption  of  Civil  Rights 
laws.  Where  the  state  has  been  in  the  direct  line  of  Northern  in 
fluence  there  such  legislation  appears.  This  factor  is  the  controlling 
one  in  most  of  the  Northern  states,  in  the  adoption  of  such  legisla 
tion,  rather  than  any  of  the  others.  It  is  this  factor  also  which,  as 
has  been  indicated,  has  led  to  the  repealing  of  earlier  restrictive 
laws  in  the  Northern  states.  This  has  been  done  in  spite  of  the 
steadily  increasing  numbers  of  the  colored  population  of  those 
states. 

The  factor  of  conflict  of  interest  must  finally  be  considered.  This 
interest  will  in  most  cases  be  economic.  It  can  arise,  however,  from 
such  motives  as  religion,  nationality,  and  lesser  causes.  For  exam 
ple,  a  group  otherwise  almost  identical  with  the  general  body  may 
be  led  by  reasons  of  nationality  into  hostility  with  it,  as  seen  in  the 
case  of  Germans  long  resident  in  England  but  for  the  duration  of  the 
war  necessarily  interned  to  protect  the  nation.  The  factor  of  con 
flict  of  interest  affects  the  negro  at  present  only  slightly,  and  that 
through  the  side  of  economic  interest.  It  has  future  possibilities, 
»  however,  both  in  the  North  and  in  the  South,  especially  because  of 
the  influx  of  negro  laborers  into  the  North.  If  negro  workingmen 
come  into  active  competition  with  white  workingmen  over  securing 
of  available  work,  or  other  industrial  interests,  it  will  carry  the  pos 
sibility  of  arousing  active  hostility.  This  will  arise  more  easily  and 
be  more  active  on  account  of  the  negro  dissimilarity.  There  is  in 
this  factor  the  possibility  of  a  reversal  of  the  course  of  legislation  in 
the  North  concerning  the  negro.  It  is  not  yet  active.  Whether  it 
will  arise  cannot  now  be  foreseen. 

To  sum  up  briefly,  there  are  a  number  of  factors  whose  operation 
determines  the  passage  of  legislation  either  in  the  protection  of  or 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  47 

in  restriction  of  the  negro.  They  are  somewhat  affected  by  the 
varying  resisting  powers  of  the  different  types  of  legislation.  These 
factors  seem  intelligibly  and  sufficiently  to  explain  not  only  present 
legislation  but  also  the  historical  development  through  which  it  has 
passed. 

As  a  result  of  the  operation  of  these  factors,  the  different  states 
can  be  classified  into  various  groups,  according  to  the  attitude  of 
their  legislation  toward  the  negro  race.  It  is  apparent  that  the 
Southern  states  form  one  group.  Within  this  group  there  are  slight 
differences,  some  states  being  leaders  in  the  development  of  certain 
legislation,  and  some  showing  slightly  different  tendencies  from  the 
others.  These  differences  while  distinct  are  not  marked  enough  to 
warrant  splitting  up  the  Southern  states  into  sub-groups.  Various 
minor  classifications  and  divisions  can  be  made  through  examination 
of  the  laws  and  their  development,  as  found  in  these  states,  but  such 
differences  are  not  sufficient  to  create  any  great  distinction  among 
the  Southern  states.  Missouri  alone  constitutes  an  exception, 
showing  strong  northern  influence. 

The  state  of  New  Mexico  must  be  placed  in  a  classification  by 
itself.  Its  legislation  was  at  first  southern  in  tendency.  This  in 
fluence  was  later  overcome,  as  seen  elsewhere,  not  by  northern  influ 
ence  but  by  the  influence  of  the  Mexican  population  of  the  state. 
The  state  therefore  should  not  be  grouped  with  either  Northern  or 
Southern  states,  but  forms  a  distinct  division,  although  but  a  single 
state.  It  will  be  noted  that  the  other  states  bordering  upon  the 
Mexican  frontier  have  not  been  affected  in  the  same  manner  and 
fall  into  the  other  classifications  herein  referred  to. 

The  Northern  states  as  a  whole  may  be  regarded  as  a  distinct 
group  in  themselves.  There  are  evident  among  them,  however, 
distinctly  marked  differences  which  require  their  further  classifi 
cation  into  sub-groups. 

The  first  of  these  sub-groups  to  require  attention  is  that  consisting 
of  the  border  states  of  the  North  in  proximity  to  the  Southern 
states.  These  border  states  distinctly  show  the  results  of  this 
proximity.  Either  in  their  present  legislation  or  in  their  past  legis 
lation,  they  are  distinct  from  the  other  Northern  states.  This  can 
be  recognized  in  Ohio,  Indiana,  Kansas  and  other  states.  It  does 
not  hold,  however,  for  all  of  the  states  just  north  of  the  border.  In 
Pennsylvania,  unlike  the  situation  in  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois, 


48  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

Southern  influence  did  not  penetrate  through  the  southern  portion 
of  the  state  sufficiently  to  reach  the  legislative  centres. 

The  states  which  lie  at  the  point  of  furthest  distance  from  the 
Southern  states  again  form  a  somewhat  distinct  group  by  them 
selves.  They  are  isolated  by  reason  of  their  position  from  partici 
pation  in  the  negro  question,  regardless  of  other  factors.  An  ex 
ample  of  this  can  be  seen  in  New  England,  where  the  southern  New 
England  states  are  typically  northern  states.  The  northern  New 
England  states  of  Maine,  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont  are  entirely 
distinct  in  their  legislative  attitude  from  the  southern  section  of 
New  England.  The  stream  of  influence  affecting  such  legislation 
which  flowed  from  Massachusetts  evidently  tended  southward  and 
westward.  The  northern  New  England  States  were  left  in  an  eddy 
of  the  stream,  and  remained  unaffected  by  its  current.  They  also 
may  be  said  to  have  been  separated  by  buffer  states,  the  southern 
New  England  states  serving  this  purpose.  Further  west  similar 
states  located  upon  the  northern  border  can  be  recognized,  which 
likewise  have  been  isolated  from  lively  participation  in  the  negro 
problem  by  the  other  Northern  states  lying  between  themselves 
and  the  South.  Montana  and  North  Dakota  are  in  this  group,  and 
one  or  two  others  should  perhaps  also  be  placed  in  it. 

The  Western  states  as  a  whole,  omitting  the  tier  of  states  imme 
diately  to  the  west  of  the  Mississippi  River,  while  entirely  Northern 
in  their  main  classification,  form  roughly  a  group  by  themselves,  in 
that  they  show  weakened  Northern  influence  and  a  distinct  ad 
mixture  of  Southern  influence.  The  legislation  in  this  group  of 
states  varies  from  state  to  state.  One  cannot  generalize,  as  can  be 
done  in  those  states  of  the  Northern  group  which  lie  further  east, 
as  to  what  precise  forms  of  legislation  exist  in  them.  These  states 
then  form  a  somewhat  distinct  group,  not  so  much  owing  to  the 
strong  predominance  of  a  given  type  of  legislation,  as  owing  to  the 
absence  of  this. 

The  remaining  Northern  group  of  states  is  of  course  that  group 
in  the  east  and  the  middle  west  which  are  in  every  respect  strong 
typical  Northern  states.  These  sub-groups  within  the  larger 
Northern  group  will  be  seen  to  be  in  accordance  with  the  operation 
of  the  principles  which  have  just  been  discussed,  and  to  yield 
further  illustrations  of  their  operation. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  49 

The  most  typical  Southern  law,  which  is  found  in  every  state 
within  the  Southern  group,  with  the  exception  of  Missouri  and 
Delaware,  is  the  law  requiring  separation  in  transportation.  Civil 
Rights  legislation  has  commonly  been  regarded  as  the  distinctive  mark 
of  Northern  states.  This  is  not  the  case.  Many  of  the  Northern 
states  which  are  in  no  respect  whatever  influenced  by  the  South  do 
not  possess  such  a  law.  The  Northern  states  are  marked  rather  by 
absence  of  Southern  influence,  and  by  various  laws  of  Northern  trend. 

While  statesmen  and  observers  of  public  affairs  have  devoted 
great  attention  to  the  many  different  sides  of  the  negro  question, 
there  can  be  found  little  evidence  in  statutory  enactments  that 
legislators  have  done  likewise.  In  the  South,  the  one  underlying 
motive  of  separation  has  been  the  controlling  force.  In  the  North, 
attention  has  been  paid  chiefly  to  protecting  the  interests  and 
rights  of  the  negro  from  invasion,  with  the  addition  of  a  few  scat 
tered  restrictive  measures.  The  legislation  shows  no  constructive 
plans  and  measures  for  the  development  and  welfare  of  the  colored 
race,  either  in  the  North  or  in  the  South.  The  single  exception  to 
this  is  an  abortive  and  fruitless  colonization  plan.  Various  plans 
for  the  development  of  the  colored  race  socially  and  economi 
cally  have  been  proposed,  and  one  might  expect  in  the  history  of 
legislation  especially  in  the  South  a  record  of  experiments  in  such 
lines.  Social  experimentation  is  constantly  being  carried  on  through 
legislation  on  many  subjects  of  the  public  welfare.  None  of  this  is 
found  with  reference  to  the  negro. 

One  reason  for  this  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  is  in  large  part  impossible 
to  enact  legislation  directed  specially  and  solely  toward  the  negro 
race,  even  for  the  development  and  welfare  of  that  race.  Legisla 
tion  must  today  apply  to  both  races  without  discrimination. 
Further,  many  measures  of  social  construction  may  in  fact  benefit 
the  negro,  and  whatever  enactments  make  for  the  welfare  of  the 
white  population  or  of  the  general  population  should  also  make  for 
the  welfare  of  the  negro.  Through  separate  institutions  and 
educational  facilities,  and  in  other  ways,  various  constructive 
measures  are  in  fact  being  developed  outside  the  field  of  legislation. 

To  what  extent  legislation  can  be  utilized  as  a  constructive  force;* 
in  solving  the  negro  problem,  however,  lies  outside  the  scope  of  this 
essay.     It  need  only  be  remarked,  in  closing,  that  it  has  not  been 
so  utilized  to  the  extent  that  would  seem  to  have  been  possible. 


TABLES 

Tables  showing  chronological  enactment  of  legislation 

Acts  concerning  intermarriage 

Acts  sanctioning  separation  in  education 

Acts  prohibiting  separation  in  education 

Acts  concerning  transportation 

Acts  concerning  civil  rights 
Table  of  the  number  and  per  cent,  of  negro  population  in  each  state. 

DESCRIPTION 

In  each  table  of  legislation  the  italic  abbreviation  of  a  state, 
thus,  Mass.,  signifies  the  original  legislation  in  that  state  concern 
ing  the  given  subject.  Where  the  abbreviation  of  a  state  is  not 
in  italics,  it  signifies  further  enactments  after  the  original  act. 

The  table  concerning  intermarriage  shows  the  legislation  on  this 
subject,  the  names  of  states  with  no  description  following  signify 
ing  legislation  prohibiting  intermarriage.  Legislation  is  not  included 
which  consists  of  repetition  in  compiled  statutes  or  otherwise  of 
previous  acts. 

The  table  of  legislation  sanctioning  separation  in  education  shows 
the  legislation  approving  of  such  separation,  whether  permissive  or 
compulsory.  Absence  of  description  signifies  compulsory  legisla 
tion,  other  forms  being  named.  Legislation  referring  to  private 
schools  or  schools  other  than  public  is  so  described. 

The  table  of  legislation  prohibiting  separation  in  education  con 
tains  the  laws  of  that  nature,  the  insertion  of  them  in  the  preceding 
table  being  found  undesirable. 

The  table  of  legislation  concerning  transportation  contains  the 
laws  on  that  subject.  Where  not  specified  the  laws  are  requirements 
of  separation  in  the  cars  of  railroads. 

The  table  of  legislation  concerning  civil  rights  shows  the  laws 
referring  to  that  subject.  When  not  described,  the  laws  establish 
civil  rights.  Other  legislation  is  described. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 


CHRONOLOGICAL  RECORD  OF  LEGISLATION 
CONCERNING  INTERMARRIAGE 

Laws  other  than  prohibition  of  intermarriage  are  indicated 


1786     Mass..  1872 

1798     R.I. 

1821     Me.  1873 

1834     Mass.  1874 

1838     Mich.  1875 

1843     Ind.,  Mass,  (repeal).  1877 

1850     Col. 

1852  1879 

1854  Wash.  1880 

1855  Kan.  1 88 1 
1857  Me.  (omit),  N.  Mex.  1882 
1859  Kan.  (repeal).  1883 

1 86 1  Nev.,  Ohio. 

1862  Ore.  1884 

1864  Colo.  1885 

1865  Ariz.,  Ga.,  Miss.,  5.  C.,  1887 

Wash.,  Ala.  (Constitu-  1888 

tion).  1890 

1866  Neb.,  N.  Mex.  (repeal),  1894 

Ark.,  Mo.,  Ky.  1895 

1867  Ida.,  Wash,  (repeal),  Ore.  1901 

1868  S.  C.  (repeal).  1907 

1870  Tenn.  (Constitution,  stat-  1908 

ute).  1909 

1871  Miss,  (omitted).  1913 


R.  I.  (repeated),  Ala.  (law 
held  void  by  statecourt) . 

Va.,  N.  C. 

Del. 

N.  C.  (Constitution). 

Ala.  (law  again  held  valid 
by  state  court). 

S.  C.  (reenacted),  Tex. 

Miss,  (inserted). 

Fla.,  R.  I.  (repealed). 

W.  Va. 

Me.  (repealed),  Mich,  (re 
pealed). 

Md. 

Neb. 

Ohio  (repealed). 

Utah. 

Miss.  (Constitution). 

La. 

S.  C.  (Constitution). 

Ala. 

Okla. 

La.  (concubinage). 

Mont.,  S.  Dak. 

Neb.,  S.  Dak. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 


CHRONOLOGICAL  RECORD  OF  LEGISLATION  SANCTIONING 
SEPARATION  IN  EDUCATION 

Laws  other  than  separation  laws  are  indicated 

1878     Miss.,  Ohio  (permit). 

1880  Cal.  (repeal). 

1 88 1  Pa.  (repeal  of  general  law 

of  1854). 

1883     Del. 

1885     Fla.  (Constitution),  N.C. 

1887     Ohio  (repeal),  Wyo.  (per 
mit). 

1889  Mont.  (omit). 

1890  Miss.  (Constitution), 

Okla.  (permit). 

1891  Ky.  (Constitution). 
1893     Del.,  Tex. 

1 895  Ga. ,  Fla.  (private  schools) , 

S.  C.  (Constitution), 
Tex. 

1896  S.  C. 

1897  Okla. 

1898  Del.,  La.   (Constitution). 

1900  N.   Y.    (repeal   and   pro 

hibited). 

1901  Ala.,  Tenn.   (private 

schools). 

1902  Va.  (Constitution). 

1903  N.  C. 

1904  Ky.  (private  schools). 

1905  Kan. 

1907  Okla.  (Constitution). 

1908  Okla.  (private  schools). 

1909  Ariz,  (permit). 
1913  Fla. 


1829 

1843     Ind.  (permit). 

1845  La.  (Constitution),  N.  Y. 

(local),  Va. 

1846  Iowa,  Mo.  (not  to  teach). 

1847  Ohio  (permit). 

1852  Del.,  Ohio  (require),  N.  Y. 
(local). 

1854     Pa. 

1858  Iowa  (held  unconstitu 
tional  by  court,  1858). 

1862     Kan. 

1864  N.  Y.   (general,   permit). 

1865  Mo.,  Mo.  (Constitution), 

Nev.,  W.  Va. 

1866  Ark.,  Tenn.j  Tex. 

1868  Ala.,  Kan.  (permit). 

1869  Cal.,    Ind.,     Pa.     (local), 

Va.,  Ky.  (permit). 

1870  Md.,Tenn.  (Constitution). 

1871  Mont. 

1872  Ga.,  Md.,   Pa.   (repeal  of 

1869     law),     W.     Va. 
(Constitution). 

1873  Ark.,  Ky.  (general),  Nev. 

(omitted). 

1875  N.  C.  (Constitution) ,  Ala., 

(Constitution). 

1876  Kan., Tex.  (Constitution). 

1877  Ind.  (permit),  Ga.  (Con 

stitution).   Del. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 


53 


CHRONOLOGICAL  RECORD  OF  LEGISLATION  PROHIBITING 
SEPARATION  IN  EDUCATION 

Laws  other  than  prohibition  of  separation  are  indicated 


1855  Mass. 
1857  Iowa. 
1868  La.  (Constitution),  S.  C. 

(Constitution). 
1871     Mich. 

1873  TV.    Y.    (in    Civil    Rights 

law). 

1874  ///.,  Kan.  (in  Civil  Rights 

law). 

1876  Colo.  (Constitution),  Kan. 

(by  omission). 

1877  Minn. 

1879     La.  (Constitution  omit). 


1881  Kan.,  TV.  /.,  Pa. 

1882  R.  I. 

1889     Ida.,   Mont.   (Constitu 
tion). 

1895     Utah  (Constitution), 
Mont. 

1900  N.Y. (full  prohibition  law). 

1901  Ariz.,  N.  Mex. 
1903     N.  J. 

1905     Minn. 

1909     Ariz,    (repeal  by  permis 
sive  law). 
1911     N.  Mex.  (Constitution). 


54 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 


CHRONOLOGICAL  RECORD  OF  LEGISLATION  CONCERNING 
SEPARATION  IN  TRANSPORTATION 

Laws  other  than  requirements  of  separation  are  indicated 

NOTE.  Prohibition  of  separation  when  merely  a  clause  in  a  civil  rights  statute  is 
not  recorded  here,  except  for  the  first  provision,  in  Massachusetts,  and  for  the  South 
ern  states,  otherwise  most  of  the  civil  rights  laws  would  necessarily  be  here  included. 

Fla.,$fiss.,  Mass,  (prohib- 


1865  Fla.,    fiss.,  Mass,  (prohib-      1894 

ited  in  Civil  Rights  law).      1898 

1866  Tex.  1899 

1867  Pa.  (prohibited).  1900 

1869  La.     (prohibited),     Miss.      1901 

(prohibited   in   Consti 
tution).  1902 

1870  Ga.  (prohibited). 

1871  Tex.  (prohibited  in  Civil      1903 

Rights  law). 

1873     Miss,  (prohibited  in  Civil 

Rights  law),  La.   (pro-      1904 
hibited  in  Civil  Rights 
law),   Ark.    (prohibited 
in    Civil    Rights    law), 
Fla.  (prohibited  in  Civil      1905 
Rights  law). 

1875     Del.  (permitted,  cars  and 

boats),  Tenn.   (permit-      1906 
ted). 

1 88 1  Tenn. 

1882  Tenn.  1907 

1887  Fla. 

1888  Miss,  (also  authorized  in 

depots) . 

1889  Tex. 

1890  La. 

1891  Ala.,  Ark.,  Tenn.,   Tex.,      1908 

Ga.  (also  partial  street 
railway  requirement). 

1892  Ky.  1909 

1893  Ark.  (waiting  rooms  also),      1911 

Ky. 


La.  (depots). 

S.C. 

Ga.,  N.  C. 

S.  C.,  Va. 

N.  C.,  Va.  (partial  street 
railway  law). 

La.  (street  railways),  Va. 
(partial  street  railways) . 

Ark.  (street  railways),  S. 
C.,  Tenn.  (partial  street 
railways) . 

Md.,  Miss,  (street  rail 
ways),  S.  C.,  Va.  (de 
pots,  wharves  author 
ized),  Md.  (boats). 

Fla.  (street  railways),  S. 
C.  (suburban  railways), 
Tenn.  (street  railways) . 

S.  C.  (meals  at  depots), 
Va.  (street  railways, 
general) . 

Fla.  (waiting  rooms,  elec 
tric  cars),  N.  C.  (street 
railways),  Okla.,  Okla. 
(street  railways  and  de 
pots),  Tex.  (street  rail 
ways)  . 

Md.    (electric    railways), 
Md.    (railroads    and 
boats) . 

Tex.  (depots). 

Okla. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 


55 


CHRONOLOGICAL  RECORD  OF  LEGISLATION  CONCERNING 
CIVIL  RIGHTS 

(including  also  life  insurance  acts) 

Laws  other  than  requirement  of  civil  rights  are  indicated 


1865  Mass.,     Mo.     (Constitu-  1884 

tion),     United     States 

(Thirteenth  Amend-  1885 
ment). 

1866  Mass.,     Fla.     (Anti-Civil  1887 

Rights),  United  States.  1889 

1868  5.     C.     (Constitution), 

United  States  (Four 
teenth  Amendment).  1891 

1869  La.,  S.  C.  1892 

1870  United  States  (Fifteenth  1893 

Amendment),    United 
States     (Enforcement 

Act).  1894 

1871  Tex.  1895 

1873  Ark.,    Del.    (Anti-Civil 

Rights),     La.,     Fla.,  1897 

Miss.,  N.  Y.  1898 

1874  Kan.  1899 

1875  Del.   (Anti-Civil  Rights),  1902 

Tenn.   (Anti-Civil  1903 

Rights),  United  States.  1905 

1876  N.  C.  (Anti-Civil  Rights).  1907 
1881     N.  Y.  1909 
1883     (United  States  Civil  1911 

Rights  cases).  1913 


Conn.,   Iowa,   Mass,    (life 

insurance),  N.  J.,  Ohio. 
Colo.,  III.,  Ind.,  Mass., 

Mich.,  Minn.,  Neb., R.I. 
Conn,  (life  insurance),  Pa. 
Conn,  (life  insurance), 

Ohio  (life  insurance), 

Wash. 

111.,  N.  Y.  (life  insurance). 
Iowa. 
Cal.,    Mass.,    Mich,    (life 

insurance),  Neb.,  Ohio 

(life   insurance). 
Ohio. 
Colo.,  Mass.,  N.  Y., 

Wash.,  Wise. 
Cal.,  111.,  Minn. 
N.J. 

Minn.,  N.  Y. 
La.  (repeal). 
111. 

Conn. 

Ark.  (repeal). 
Wash. 
111. 
N.Y. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

ABSOLUTE  NUMBERS  AND  PER  CENT.  OF 
NEGRO  POPULATION  IN  EACH  STATE 


United 

States 

Census  of  igio 

I 

N.  H. 

564 

.1 

26 

111. 

109,049 

1.9 

2 

Wis. 

2,900 

.1 

27 

Ind. 

60,320 

2.2 

3 

N.  Dak. 

617 

.1 

28 

Ohio 

111,452 

2-3 

4 

S.  Dak. 

817 

.1 

29 

Pa. 

193,919 

2-5 

5 

Me. 

1,363 

.2 

30 

Kans. 

54,030 

3-2 

6 

Ida. 

651 

.2 

31 

N.J. 

89,760 

3-5 

7 

Ore. 

1,492 

.2 

32 

Mo. 

157,452 

4.8 

8 

Minn. 

7,084 

•3 

33 

W.Va. 

64,173 

5-3 

9 

Utah 

1,144 

•3 

34 

Okla. 

137,612 

8-3 

10 

Vt. 

1,621 

•5 

35 

Ky. 

261,656 

11.4 

ii 

Mont. 

i,834 

•5 

36 

Del. 

31,181 

154 

12 

N.  Mex. 

1,628 

•5 

37 

Tex. 

690,049 

17.7 

13 

Wash. 

6,058 

•5 

38 

Md. 

232,250 

17.9 

H 

Mich. 

17,115 

.6 

39 

Tenn. 

473,088 

21.7 

15 

Neb. 

7,689 

.6 

40 

Ark. 

442,891 

28.1 

16 

Nev. 

513 

.6 

41 

D.  C. 

94,446 

28.5 

17 

la. 

14,973 

•7 

42 

N.  C. 

697,843 

31-6 

18 

Cal. 

21,645 

•9 

43 

Va. 

671,096 

32.6 

19 

Ariz. 

2,009 

.0 

44 

Fla. 

308,669 

41.0 

20 

Mass. 

38,055 

.1 

45 

Ala. 

908,282 

42-5 

21 

Conn. 

15,174 

•4 

46 

La. 

713,874 

43-i 

22 

Colo. 

n,453 

•4 

47 

Ga. 

1,176,987 

45-1 

23 

N.  Y. 

134,191 

•5 

48 

S.  C. 

835,843 

55-2 

24 

Wyo. 

RT 

2,235 

T     Q 

49 

Miss. 

1,009,487 

56.2 

25 

.     1. 

9,529 

1.0 

Total    9,827,763 


PART  II 
CHRONOLOGICAL  RECORD  OF  THE  LAWS 

United  States 
1856 

Dred  Scott  v.  Sandford,  ig  Howard  ( United  States'),  p.  393,  1856.  The 
decision  delivered  by  Chief  Justice  Taney  held  that  persons  of  the 
African  race  who  were  brought  to  the  country,  together  with  their 
descendants,  were  chattels  with  "no  rights  and  privileges  but  such 
as  those  who  hold  the  power  and  conduct  the  government  might 
choose  to  grant  them,"  and  that  they  were  not  citizens  nor  capable  of 
being  such. 

1865 

Amendment  XIII,  13  Stat.  L.,  p.  567,  Feb.  i,  1865.  Section  I. 
Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except  as  a  punishment 
for  crime  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted,  shall 
exist  within  the  United  States,  or  any  place  subject  to  their  juris 
diction.  (Proclamation  of  ratification,  December  18,  1865.) 

1866 

14  Stat.  L.,  p.  27,  April  9,  1866.  An  act  to  protect  all  persons  in  the 
United  States  in  their  Civil  Rights. 

Section  I.  All  persons  born  in  the  United  States  and  not  subject 
to  any  foreign  power,  excluding  Indians  not  taxed,  are  hereby  de 
clared  to  be  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  such  citizens  of  every 
race  and  color,  without  regard  to  any  previous  condition  of  slavery 
or  involuntary  servitude,  except  as  a  punishment  for  a  crime  whereof 
the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted,  shall  have  the  same  right, 
in  every  State  and  Territory  in  the  United  States,  to  make  and 
enforce  contracts,  to  sue,  be  parties,  and  give  evidence,  to  inherit, 
purchase,  lease,  sell,  hold,  and  convey  real  and  personal  property, 
and  to  full  and  equal  benefit  of  all  laws  and  proceedings  for  security 
of  person  and  property,  as  is  enjoyed  by  white  citizens,  and  shall 


58  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

be  subject  to  like  punishment,  pains,  and  penalties,  and  to  none 
other,  any  law,  statute,  ordinance,  regulation  or  custom,  to  the 
contrary  notwithstanding. 

Section  2.  Any  person  who  under  color  of  any  law,  statute,  ordi 
nance,  regulation  or  custom,  shall  subject,  or  cause  to  be  subjected, 
any  inhabitant  of  any  State  or  Territory  to  the  deprivation  of  any 
right  secured  or  protected  by  this  act,  or  to  different  punishment, 
pains,  or  penalty,  on  account  of  such  person  having  at  any  time 
been  in  a  condition  of  slavery  or  involuntary  servitude  or  by  reason 
of  his  color  or  race,  than  is  prescribed  for  the  punishment  of  white 
persons,  is  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  and  may  be  fined  not  exceed 
ing  $1,000,  or  imprisoned  not  exceeding  one  year,  or  both. 
Amendment  XIV,  14  Stat.  L.,  p.  358,  June  16,  1866.  Section  i.  All 
persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United  States  and  subject  to  the 
jurisdiction  thereof  are  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the 
State  wherein  they  reside.  No  State  shall  make  or  enforce  any  law 
which  shall  abridge  the  privileges  or  immunities  of  citizens  of  the 
United  States ;  nor  shall  any  State  deprive  any  person  of  life,  liberty, 
or  property  without  due  process  of  law,  nor  deny  to  any  person 
within  its  jurisdiction  the  equal  protection  of  the  laws.  (Proclama 
tion  of  ratification,  July  28,  1868.) 

1869 

Amendment  XV,  15  Stat.  L.,  p.  346,  February  27,  1869.  The  right 
of  any  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote  shall  not  be  denied  or 
abridged  by  the  United  States  or  by  any  State  on  account  of  race, 
color  or  previous  condition  of  servitude.  (Proclamation  of  ratifica 
tion,  March  30,  1870.) 

1870 

16  Stat.  L.,  p.  140.  Enforcement  Act.  Approved  May  31,  1870. 
Act  to  enforce  the  Rights  of  Citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote  in 
the  several  States,  and  for  other  purposes. 

Section  I.  Race,  color  or  previous  condition  of  servitude  shall 
not  affect  the  right  to  vote  at  any  election. 

Section  2.  Nor  shall  the  enforcement  of  any  prerequisite  to  the 
right  of  voting  affect  such  right.  Penalty,  $500  forfeit  to  the  person 
aggrieved,  with  full  costs  and  allowance  for  counsel  fees,  and  the 
offender  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  with  a  fine  of  not  less  than 
$500  or  imprisonment  from  one  month  to  one  year,  or  both. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  59 

Section  4.  Penalty  for  unlawfully  obstructing  any  citizen  from 
qualifying  himself  to  vote,  or  from  voting,  a  fine  of  not  more  than 
$500  or  imprisonment  from  one  month  to  one  year,  or  both. 

Section  5.  Intimidating  or  attempting  to  intimidate  by  bribery 
or  threats  from  exercising  right  of  suffrage ;  same  penalty. 

Section  16.  All  persons  shall  have  same  right  to  make  and  enforce 
contracts,  to  sue,  be  parties,  give  evidence,  and  to  the  full  and 
equal  benefit  of  all  laws  and  proceedings  for  security  of  person  and 
property  as  is  enjoyed  by  white  citizens,  and  shall  be  subject  to 
like  punishment,  pains,  penalties,  taxes,  licenses,  and  exactions  of 
every  kind,  and  none  other,  any  law,  statute,  ordinance,  regulation 
or  custom,  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding;  and  any  law  of  any 
State  in  conflict  with  this  provision  is  hereby  declared  null  and  void. 

Section  17.  Penalty,  a  fine  not  exceeding  $1,000  or  imprisonment 
not  exceeding  one  year,  or  both. 

Section  18.  The  Act  to  protect  all  persons  in  United  States  in 
their  Civil  Rights  and  to  furnish  the  means  of  their  vindication, 
passed  April  9,  1866,  is  hereby  reenacted,  and  sections  16  and  17 
hereof  shall  be  enforced  according  to  the  provisions  of  said  Act. 

1871 

17  Stat.  L.,  p.  Jj,  April  20,  1871.     Act  to  enforce  Provisions  of 
Fourteenth  Amendment,  and  for  other  purposes. 

Section  I.  Any  person  who  under  color  of  any  law,  statute, 
ordinance,  regulation,  custom,  or  usage  of  any  state,  shall  subject 
or  cause  to  be  subjected,  any  person  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
United  States  to  the  deprivation  of  any  rights,  privileges  or  immuni 
ties  secured  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  shall,  any 
such  law  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding,  be  liable  to  the  party 
injured  in  any  action  at  law,  etc. 

Penalty,  a  fine  from  $500  to  $5,000,  or  imprisonment  with  or 
without  hard  labor  from  six  months  to  six  years,  or  both. 

1875 

18  Stat.  L.,  p.  JJ5,  March  I,  1875.    Act  to  protect  all  citizens  in  their 
civil  and  legal  rights. 

Section  i.  Whereas  it  is  essential  to  just  government  that  we 
recognize  the  equality  of  all  men  before  the  law,  and  hold  that  it  is 
the  duty  of  government  in  its  dealings  with  people  to  mete  out  equal 


60  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

and  exact  justice  to  all,  of  whatever  nationality,  race,  color  or  per 
suasion,  religious  or  political;  and  it  being  the  appropriate  object  of 
legislation  to  enact  great  fundamental  principles  into  law;  There 
fore,  be  it  enacted,  etc.  That  all  persons  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  United  States  shall  be  entitled  to  full  and  equal  enjoyment  of  the 
accommodations,  advantages,  facilities  and  privileges  of  inns,  public 
conveyances  on  land  or  water,  theaters,  and  other  places  of  public 
amusement;  subject  only  to  the  conditions  and  limitations  estab 
lished  by  law  and  applicable  alike  to  citizens  of  every  race  and  color, 
regardless  of  any  previous  condition  of  servitude. 

Section  2.  For  the  denial  of  such  rights  except  for  reasons  by 
law  applicable  to  citizens  of  every  race  and  color,  and  regardless  of 
any  previous  condition  of  servitude,  or  for  aiding  or  inciting  such 
denials,  the  offender  shall  forfeit  and  pay  the  sum  of  $500  to  the  per 
son  aggrieved,  with  full  costs,  and  upon  conviction  he  shall  be 
deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  and  fined  not  less  than  $500  nor 
more  than  $1,000,  or  shall  be  imprisoned  from  thirty  days  to  one 
year.  Provided  that  all  persons  may  elect  to  sue  for  the  penalty 
aforesaid  or  to  proceed  under  their  rights  at  common  law  and  by 
State  statutes,  and  having  elected  to  proceed  in  the  one  mode  or 
the  other,  their  right  to  proceed  in  the  other  jurisdiction  shall  be 
barred.  But  this  proviso  shall  not  apply  to  criminal  proceedings, 
either  under  this  act  or  the  criminal  law  of  any  State.  Provided 
further,  That  a  judgment  for  the  penalty  in  favor  of  the  party 
aggrieved  or  a  judgment  upon  an  indictment,  shall  be  a  bar  to  either 
prosecution  respectively. 

Section  4.  No  citizen  possessing  all  other  qualifications  which  are 
or  may  be  prescribed  by  law  shall  be  disqualified  for  service  as 
grand  or  petit  juror  in  any  Court  of  United  States,  or  of  any  State, 
on  account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude;  and 
any  officer  or  other  person  charged  with  any  duty  in  the  selection  or 
summoning  of  jurors  who  shall  exclude  or  fail  to  summon  any 
citizen  for  the  cause  aforesaid  shall,  on  conviction  thereof,  be 
deemed  guilty  of  misdemeanor,  and  be  fined  not  more  than  $5,000. 

1883 

Civil  Rights  Cases,  lop  United  States,  p.  j,  1883.  Five  cases  brought 
on  account  of  violation  of  Civil  Rights,  in  Kansas,  California, 
Missouri,  New  York,  and  Tennessee. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  61 

Judge  Bradley.  "These  eases  are  all  founded  on  the  first  and 
second  sections  of  the  Act  of  Congress,  known  as  the  Civil  Rights 
Act,  passed  March  I,  1875.  Two  of  the  cases  are  for  denying  to  per 
sons  of  color  the  accommodations  and  privileges  of  any  inn  or  hotel ; 
two  of  them  are,  the  one  for  denying  the  privileges  and  accommoda 
tions  of  a  theater — in  refusing  a  colored  person  a  seat  in  the  dress 
circle,  and  the  other  for  denying  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  accommo 
dations  of  the  theater  known  as  the  Grand  Opera  House  in  New 
York,  said  denial  not  being  made  for  any  reasons  by  law  applicable 
to  citizens  of  every  race  and  color,  and  regardless  of  any  previous 
condition  of  servitude;  the  last  case  on  account  of  the  refusal  of  the 
conductor  of  a  railroad  company  to  allow  the  wife  of  complainant  to 
ride  in  a  ladies  car  for  the  reason  that  she  was  a  person  of  African 
descent." 

"The  primary  and  important  question  in  all  the  cases  is  the  con 
stitutionality  of  the  law.  No  one  will  contend  that  the  power  to  pass 
it  was  contained  in  the  Constitution  before  the  adoption  of  the  last 
three  amendments." 

Concerning  the  Fourteenth  Amendment,  the  Court  held,  "It  is 
State  action  of  a  particular  character  that  is  prohibited.  Individual 
invasion  of  individual  rights  is  not  the  subject  matter  of  the  amend 
ment."  "It  does  not  authorize  Congress  to  create  a  code  of  muni 
cipal  law  for  the  regulation  of  private  rights,  but  to  provide  modes 
of  redress  against  the  operation  of  State  laws,  and  the  action  of  State 
officers,  executive  or  judicial,  when  these  are  subversive  of  the  fun 
damental  rights  specified  in  the  Amendment."  "And  so  in  the 
present  case,  until  some  State  law  has  been  passed  or  some  State 
action  has  been  taken,  no  legislation  of  the  United  States  can  be 
called  into  activity.  Of  course,  legislation  may  be  provided  in 
advance  to  meet  the  exigency  when  it  arises,  but  not  general  legis 
lation  upon  the  rights  of  the  citizen,  but  corrective  legislation." 

Concerning  the  Thirteenth  Amendment  the  Court  held,  "Can  the 
act  of  a  mere  individual,  the  owner  of  the  inn,  the  public  conveyance, 
or  place  of  amusement,  refusing  the  accommodation,  be  justly 
regarded  as  imposing  any  badge  of  slavery  or  servitude  upon  the 
applicant,  or  only  as  inflicting  an  ordinary  civil  injury,  properly 
cognizable  by  the  laws  of  the  State,  and  presumably  subject  to 
redress  by  those  laws  until  the  contrary  appears?"  "We  are  forced 
to  the  conclusion  that  such  an  act  of  refusal  has  nothing  to  do  with 


62  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

slavery  or  involuntary  servitude,  and  that  if  it  is  violative  of  any 
right  of  the  party,  his  redress  is  to  be  sought  under  the  laws  of  the 
State;  or  if  those  laws  are  adverse  to  his  rights  and  do  not  protect 
him,  his  remedy  will  be  found  in  the  corrective  legislation  which 
Congress  has  adopted  or  may  adopt  for  counteracting  the  effect  of 
State  laws  or  State  action,  prohitited  by  the  Fourteenth  Amend 
ment." 

"The  first  and  second  sections  of  the  Act  are  unconstitutional  and 
void." 

An  able  dissenting  opinion  by  Judge  Harlan  supported  the  Act 
under  the  Thirteenth  Amendment,  which  he  held  established  and 
decreed  universal  civil  freedom  throughout  the  United  States.  He 
also  held  that  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  gave  Congress  power  to 
enforce  an  express  prohibition  upon  the  States.  The  rights  which 
Congress  by  the  Act  of  1875  sought  to  secure  were  legal,  not  social, 
rights. 


Alabama 
1865 

Penal  Code,  1865-1866.  Sections  61,  62.  Any  white  person  and  any 
negro,  or  descendant  of  any  negro  to  third  generation,  inclusive, 
though  one  ancestor  of  each  generation  was  a  white  person,  inter 
marrying  or  committing  adultery,  or  fornication,  shall  each  be  pun 
ished  by  imprisonment  not  less  than  two  years  nor  more  than  seven 
years.  Penalty  for  issuing  the  license  or  performing  the  ceremony 
shall  be  a  fine  of  from  $100  to  $1,000  or  also  imprisonment  not  more 
than  six  months.  (See  Criminal  Code,  1852,  Section  61.) 

Constitution,  1865,  Article  IV.  Section  ji.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
general  assembly  at  its  next  session,  and  from  time  to  time  there 
after,  to  enact  laws  prohibiting  the  intermarriage  of  white  with 
negro  persons,  or  with  persons  of  mixed  blood,  declaring  such  mar 
riages  null  and  void  ab  initio,  and  fixing  penalties. 

Constitution,  1865,  Article  IV.  Section  36.  The  general  assembly 
shall  enact  such  laws  at  its  next  session,  and  from  time  to  time 
thereafter,  as  will  protect  the  freedmen  of  the  State,  and  guard  them 
and  the  State  against  evils  that  may  arise  from  their  sudden  emanci 
pation. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  63 

Laws,  1865-1866,  p.  98.  Witnesses.  Negroes  shall  testify  only  in 
open  court,  and  only  when  a  freed  man,  free  negro,  or  a  mulatto  is  a 
party. 

1866 

Code,  1867,  p.  64.  All  marriages  between  freed  men  and  freed 
women,  during  slavery  or  after,  solemnized  by  persons  having  or 
claiming  authority,  shall  be  valid  if  parties  are  still  living  together. 

1867 

Constitution,  1867,  Article  VII.  Section  2.  Removed  the  limitation 
of  the  vote  to  whites. 

Revised  Code,  1867,  Sections  3602  and  3603.  If  a  white  person  and  a 
negro,  descended  from  negro  ancestors  to  the  third  generation  inclu 
sive  though  one  ancestor  in  each  generation  may  have  been  white, 
shall  intermarry,  or  live  in  adultery  or  fornication,  they  shall  be  pun 
ished  by  confinement  in  the  penitentiary  at  hard  labor  for  not  less 
than  two  years  nor  more  than  seven  years.  Knowingly  issuing  the 
license  or  performing  the  ceremony  shall  be  punished  by  a  fine  from 
$100  to  $1,000,  or  imprisonment  for  six  months,  or  both.  (See 
Code,  1852,  Section  1946.) 

1868 

Laws,  1868,  p.  148.     It  is  not  lawful  to  unite  in  one  school  colored 

and  white  children,  unless  by  unanimous  consent  of  parents  and 

guardians.      Trustees    shall    in    all    other    cases    provide   separate 

schools. 

1872 

Burns  v.  State,  48  Alabama,  p.  195,  1872.  Sections  3602  and  3603 
of  the  Revised  Code,  prohibiting  intermarriage  of  white  persons  and 
negroes,  were  held  to  be  in  contravention  to  the  Civil  Rights  Bill  of 
April  9,  1866,  and  repugnant  to  the  Fourteenth  Amendment, 
Section  I.  The  Court  held  that  marriage  is  a  civil  contract  and  the 
same  right  to  make  a  contract  as  is  enjoyed  by  white  citizens,  means 
the  right  to  make  any  contract  which  a  white  citizen  may  make. 

1873 

Laws,  1873,  p.  179.  A  free  normal  school  for  colored  teachers  estab 
lished  at  Huntsville. 


64  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

Laws,  1873,  p.  176.  Provided  for  a  "State  Normal  School  and 
University"  for  the  Colored  Race,  for  the  education  of  colored 
teachers  and  students  (at  Marion),  upon  most  approved  plan,  and  in 
connection  therewith  a  university  department  to  provide  for  the 
liberal  education  of  the  colored  race  in  the  same  manner  as  was 
already  provided  for  the  education  of  the  white  race  in  our  univer 
sities  and  colleges. 

1875 

Constitution,  Article  I.  Section  38.  There  shall  be  no  education  or 
property  qualification  for  suffrage  or  for  office;  nor  any  restraint 
upon  the  same  on  account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of 
servitude,  shall  be  made  by  law. 

Constitution,  Article  XIII.  Section  I.  Separate  schools  shall  be 
provided  for  the  children  of  citizens  of  African  descent. 

1876 

Laws,  1876,  p.  285.  White  and  negro  prisoners  are  not  to  be  con 
fined  permanently  together  in  the  same  apartments  before  convic 
tion,  if  there  are  enough  separate  apartments.  Misdemeanor, 
with  a  penalty  of  a  fine  not  less  than  $50  nor  more  than  $100. 
Laws,  1876,  p.  98.  Section  9.  Poll  Tax.  Names  of  tax-payers  of 
colored  race  are  to  be  kept  in  separate  books.  Amounts  paid  by 
persons  of  colored  race  shall  be  devoted  to  maintenance  of  schools 
for  the  colored  race. 

1877 

Green  v.  State.  $8  Alabama  190  (1877}.  Overruling  Burns  v.  State, 
1872.  The  law  against  white  persons  and  negroes  intermarrying 
was  held  to  be  a  valid  law.  The  Court  held  that  marriage  is  not  a 
mere  contract,  but  a  social  or  domestic  institution.  The  law  de 
clared  to  be  a  punishable  offense  a  marriage  between  a  white  person 
and  a  negro.  And  it  no  more  tolerated  it  in  one  of  the  parties  than 
in  the  other.  There  was  no  discrimination  made  in  favor  of  the  white 
person. 

1878 

Laws  1878,  p.  136.  Repeated  separate  school  requirement  of  1875 
Constitution. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  65 

1884-1885 

Laws  1884-1885,  p.  192.    It  is  unlawful  for  white  convicts,  whether 

state  or  county  convicts,  and  colored  convicts  to  be  chained  together, 

or  to  be  allowed  to  sleep  together,  or  to  be  confined  in  same  room  or 

apartment  when  not  at  work. 

Laws  1884-1885,  p.  349.    Repeated  separate  school  provision. 

1891 

Laws,  1891,  p.  412.  All  railroads  carrying  passengers,  other  than 
street  railways,  shall  provide  equal  but  separate  accommodations 
for  the  white  and  colored  races,  by  providing  two  or  more  passenger 
cars  for  each  passenger  train,  or  by  dividing  the  passenger  cars  by 
partitions  so  as  to  secure  separate  accommodations. 

Section  2.  The  conductor  is  to  assign  each  passenger  to  his  place. 
If  a  passenger  refuses  to  occupy  it,  he  may  refuse  to  carry  such 
passenger  on  train,  and  is  not  liable  for  damages.  But  this  section 
does  not  apply  to  white  or  colored  passengers  entering  the  state  upon 
railroads  under  contract  for  transportation  made  in  other  states 
where  like  laws  to  this  do  not  prevail. 

Section  3.  A  person  riding  or  attempting  to  ride  in  wrong  place 
in  railroad  coach,  is  subject  to  a  fine  of  $100. 

Section  4.  All  railroad  companies  neglecting  to  comply  with  the 
requirements  of  this  act  within  sixty  days,  shall  be  guilty  of  a  mis 
demeanor,  and  fined  not  exceeding  $500.  Any  conductor,  etc., 
neglecting  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  the  act,  is  guilty  of  a 
misdemeanor,  and  may  be  fined  an  amount  not  to  exceed  $100. 
(Code,  1907,  Section  5487,  Section  7684.) 

1896 

Code,  1896.  Sections  3607-3608.  Colored  poll  taxes  shall  go  to 
the  support  of  colored  schools. 

Code,  1806.  Section  3720.  Alabama  School  for  Negro  Deaf  and 
Blind  established. 

1901 

Constitution,  1901,  Article  IV.  Section  102.  The  legislature  shall 
never  pass  any  law  to  authorize  or  legalize  any  marriage  between 
any  white  person  and  a  negro,  or  descendant  of  a  negro. 


66  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

IQOI 

Constitution,  1901,  Article  XIV.  Section  25 6.  Separate  schools 
shall  be  provided  for  white  and  colored  children,  and  no  child  of 
either  race  shall  be  permitted  to  attend  a  school  of  the  other  race. 

1907 

Code,  1907,  I.  Section  1757.  Schools.  Separate  school  requirement 
repeated. 

Code,  1907,  I.    Section  1858.    Negro  taxes  are  to  be  kept  separate. 

Criminal  Code,  1907.  Section  7421.  Any  white  person  and  any 
negro,  or  any  descendant  of  any  negro  to  the  third  generation 
inclusive,  though  one  ancestor  of  each  generation  was  a  white  person, 
if  they  intermarry  or  commit  adultery  or  fornication,  shall  each  be 
punished  by  imprisonment  of  not  less  than  two  years  nor  more 
than  seven  years. 

Any  officer  knowingly  issuing  a  license  for  such  marriage,  or  any 
person  knowingly  performing  the  ceremony  of  solemnizing  such 
marriage,  shall  be  fined  not  less  than  $100  and  not  more  than  $1,000 
and  at  the  discretion  of  the  Court  may  also  be  imprisoned  in  the 
County  Jail  or  sentenced  to  hard  labor  for  not  more  than  six 
months. 

Code,  1907.  Section  6221.  (Law  as  to  adultery  or  fornication  be 
tween  two  persons  not  of  different  race.)  A  man  and  woman  living 
together  in  adultery  or  fornication  for  the  first  conviction,  a  penalty 
of  a  fine  of  not  less  than  $100,  and  they  may  also  be  imprisoned  in 
the  county  jail  for  not  more  than  six  months.  Second  offense  with 
the  same  person,  the  penalty  a  fine  of  not  less  than  $300,  and  they 
may  be  imprisoned  in  the  county  jail,  or  at  hard  labor  for  not  more 
than  twelve  months.  For  the  third  or  any  subsequent  conviction 
with  the  same  person  they  must  be  imprisoned  in  the  penitentiary 
for  two  years. 

Political  Code,  1907,  p.  218.  Section  2.  The  term  "negro"  within  the 
meaning  of  this  Code,  includes  "mulatto."  The  term  "mulatto"  or 
''person  of  color"  includes  persons  of  mixed  blood  descended  on  the 
part  of  the  father  or  mother  from  negro  ancestors,  to  the  fifth 
generation  inclusive,  though  one  ancestor  of  each  generation  may 
have  been  a  white  person. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  67 

The  fifth  generation  was  substituted  for  the  third  generation  by 
the  Code  Committee  of  the  1907  Code.  (Prior  to  this  the  third 
generation  was  the  term  used  in  the  laws.) 

Criminal  Code,  1907.  Section  7684.  Civil  Code,  1907.  Section  5488. 
Omits  section  4  of  Laws  1891,  p.  412,  containing  the  penalty  for  rail 
roads  and  for  conductors  and  officials  neglecting  to  comply  with  the 
law. 


General  Acts,  1911,  p.  677.  A  Reform  School  for  juvenile  negroes 
shall  be  established,  at  Mt.  Meiggs,  with  name  "Alabama  Reform 
School  for  Juvenile  Negro  La  wr-  Breakers."  The  school  shall  have 
nine  trustees,  of  whom  five  may  be  negro  women.  The  school  shall 
be  for  boys  under  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  shall  provide  a  common 
school  education,  also  training  in  agriculture  and  industries,  and 
moral  training. 

1915 

General  Acts,  1915,  p.  284.  Separate  lists  of  white  and  negro  children 
shall  be  kept  in  making  school  census. 

General  Acts,  1915,  p.  727.  Section  I.  It  is  unlawful  to  require  any 
white  female  nurse  to  nurse  in  wards  or  rooms  in  hospitals,  either 
public  or  private,  in  which  negro  men  are  placed. 

Section  2.  It  is  unlawful  for  any  white  female  nurse  to  nurse  in 
wards  or  rooms  in  hospitals,  either  public  or  private,  in  which  negro 
men  are  placed. 

Section  j.  Penalty,  a  fine  of  $10  to  $200,  and  there  may  also  be 
added  confinement  in  county  jail,  or  hard  labor  for  county  not 
exceeding  six  months. 


Alaska 

1905 

jj  Stat.  L.,  p.  619.  Schools  shall  be  devoted  to  the  education  of 
white  children  and  children  of  mixed  blood  who  lead  a  civilized  life. 
(Nothing  shows  whether  Indians  only,  or  also  negroes,  were 
meant  to  be  included.  The  wording  includes  negroes  also.  Under 
this  wording  a  mulatto  could  attend  the  schools,  but  a  pure  negro 


68  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

might  apparently  be  shut  out;   which  was  no  doubt  not  the  inten 
tion  of  the  statute.) 

1907 

Code,  1907,  Part  V.    Section  199.    There  shall  be  no  discrimination 
against  negroes  in  voting  requirements. 


Arizona 
1865 

Laws,  1865,  p.  58.  Marriages  of  white  persons  with  negroes,  mu- 
lattoes,  Indians,  Mongolians,  shall  be  illegal  and  void.  (The  word 
"descendants"  is  not  in  this  law.) 

IQOI 

Revised  Statutes.  Section  2227.  All  children  between  six  and  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  must  be  admitted  to  the  public  schools. 

Section  2231.     No  child  shall  be  refused  admission  to  any  public 
school  on  account  of  race  or  color.     (Original  law.) 
Revised  Statutes,  1901.     Section  3092.     All  marriages  of  persons  of 
Caucasian  blood,  or  their  descendants,  with  negroes,  Mongolians,  or 
Indians,  or  their  descendants,  shall  be  null  and  void. 

Section  3094.  Such  marriages  shall  be  valid  if  valid  by  the  laws  of 
the  place  where  contracted,  except  that  residents  cannot  evade 
marriage  law  of  this  State  by  going  into  another  State  for  the 
ceremony. 

1909 

Laws,  1909,  p.  171,  772.  The  Trustees  of  school  districts  may  segre 
gate  African  pupils  from  white,  when  they  deem  it  advisable,  and 
may  provide  the  necessary  accommodations  for  such  separation, 
but  only  when  there  are  more  than  eight  negro  pupils  in  the  school 
district. 

Law  passed  by  the  legislature  over  a  veto  by  the  governor. 

Arkansas 
1866 

Laws,  1866,  p.  98.  Section  I.  All  colored  persons  shall  have  the 
right  to  make  and  enforce  contracts,  to  sue  and  to  be  sued,  to  be 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  69 

affiants,  to  give  evidence,  etc.,  that  white  persons  have.  They  shall 
not  be  subjected  to  any  other  or  different  penalty  than  provided  for 
white  persons.  All  laws  of  the  state  shall  be  applicable  without 
distinction  of  color,  except  as  hereinafter  provided. 

Section  2.  Nothing  shall  be  construed  to  repeal  or  modify  any 
statute,  common  law,  or  usage  of  the  state,  respecting  marriage  of 
white  persons  with  negroes  or  mulattoes,  voting,  service  on  juries, 
or  militia  duties. 

Section  3.  All  negroes  cohabiting  as  husband  and  wife  and  recog 
nizing  each  other  as  such,  shall  be  deemed  lawfully  married. 

Section  4.  All  marriages  between  negroes  shall  be  governed  by 
the  same  laws  as  for  whites. 

Section  5.  No  negro  or  mulatto  shall  be  admitted  to  attend  any 
public  school  except  one  exclusively  for  colored  persons. 

1868 

Constitution,  1868,  Article  VIII.    Section  2.    Removed  the  limitation 

of  the  suffrage  to  whites. 

1873 

Laws,  1873,  p.  15-19.  Civil  Rights.  Section  I.  It  shall  be  unlawful 
for  any  railway,  steamboat,  stage-coach,  or  any  other  conveyance, 
to  refuse  to  provide  any  person  with  same  accommodations  as  are 
furnished  other  persons  upon  tender  of  same  sum  of  money  actually 
paid  for  similar  accommodations  by  any  other  person. 

Section  2.  The  violation  is  a  misdemeanor  punishable  by  a  fine 
of  from  $200  to  $1,000  or  imprisonment  of  from  three  months  to 
twelve  months,  or  both. 

Section  3.  It  shall  be  unlawful  for  a  manager  of  any  public  house 
of  entertainment,  inn,  hotel  or  restaurant,  to  refuse  to  furnish  the 
same  meal,  board,  lodging,  room  or  other  accommodation  as  fur 
nished  other  persons  upon  tender  of  same  price  actually  paid  by 
others. 

Section  4.  Penalty;  a  misdemeanor  with  a  fine  of  from  $50  to 
$500. 

Section  5.  It  is  unlawful  for  any  keeper  of  a  licensed  saloon, 
grocery,  dram  shop,  or  other  place  where  liquors  are  sold  by  retail, 
to  refuse  to  sell  to  any  person  on  account  of  race  or  color,  a  drink 


7O  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

in  the  same  manner,  at  the  same  place,  and  of  the  same  quality  as 
that  sold  to  others  for  the  same  price. 

Section  6.  Penalty;  a  misdemeanor  with  a  fine  of  from  $25  to 
$100. 

Section  7.  It  is  unlawful  for  any  manager  of  a  licensed  place  of 
public  amusement  to  refuse  to  admit  any  person  on  account  of  race 
or  color  applying  to  be  admitted  to  a  full  and  free  enjoyment  of 
the  same,  or  to  refuse  to  provide  the  same  accommodations  given 
to  others  for  the  same  payment. 

SectionS.  Penalty;  a  misdemeanor  with  a  fine  of  from  $25  to  $100. 

Section  9.  1  1  is  unlawful  for  any  school  officer  of  a  school  ,  supported 
in  whole  or  in  part  by  general  taxation,  to  refuse  to  provide  equal 
and  like  accommodations  and  advantages  for  the  education  of  each 
and  every  youth  of  school  age. 

Section  10.    Penalty;    a  misdemeanor  with  a  fine  of  from  $100  to 


Section  u.  Aiding  or  abetting  the  violation  of  any  of  the  pro 
visions  of  the  act  is  a  misdemeanor.  Penalty,  a  fine  of  from  $50 
to  $500. 

Section  12.  No  person  carrying  on  any  business  mentioned 
before,  nor  any  school  officer,  shall  make  any  rule  for  the  government 
or  conduct  of  such  business,  school  or  institutions,  affecting  persons 
applying  for  accommodation,  which  shall  not  affect  all  alike  without 
regard  to  race  or  color. 

Section  ij.  Penalty;  in  addition  to  the  penalties  of  preceding 
sections,  the  person  shall  be  liable  for  civil  action  for  damages  by 
the  person  aggrieved. 

Section  14.  Prosecuting  attorneys,  sheriffs,  coroners,  justices  of 
the  peace  and  constables  of  this  State  are  authorized  and  required 
to  institute  proceedings  on  behalf  of  State,  when  cognizant  of  a 
violation  of  this  Act  within  their  jurisdiction. 

Section  75.  Any  of  the  aforesaid  officers,  who  are  personally 
cognizant  of  such  offense,  or  to  whom  complaints  shall  be  made, 
who  fail  to  prosecute,  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  in  office  and 
fined  $100  to  $500,  and  the  costs  of  prosecution,  or  in  default  of 
payment,  imprisoned  for  six  months,  or  till  the  fine  and  costs  are 
paid.  (Repealed,  1907.) 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  71 

Laws,  1873,  p.  423.  The  Board  of  school  directors  shall  establish 
separate  schools  for  white  and  colored  children  and  youths.  It  is 
their  duty  to  provide  equal  school  facilities  for  blacks  and  whites. 

1884 

Digest  of  Statutes,  1884.  Section  4593 .  All  marriages  of  white  persons 
with  negroes  or  mulattoes  are  declared  illegal  and  void.  (1838, 
Revised  Statutes,  p.  536.) 

1891 

Laws,  1891,  March  4.  Section  7.  In  precincts  w^here  more  than 
100  votes  were  cast  on  the  preceding  election,  where  the  electors 
consist  of  different  races,  the  judges  of  election  shall,  when  there 
are  persons  of  both  races  present  and  ready  to  vote,  so  conduct 
admittance  to  the  voting  place  as  to  permit  persons  of  white  and 
colored  races  to  cast  their  votes  alternately. 

Laws,  i8pi,  p.  75.  Section  I.  On  all  lines  of  railway  less  than 
twenty-five  miles  long  the  passenger  coaches  may  be  divided  by 
partition. 

The  officers  of  passenger  trains  and  agents  at  depots  have  power 
to  and  may  be  required  to  assign  passengers  to  the  proper  place  or 
proper  waiting  room  for  each  race.  Any  person  insisting  on  going  to 
the  place  set  apart  for  another  race,  shall  be  fined  not  less  than  $10 
or  more  than  $200.  Any  officer  of  any  company  wrongly  assigning  a 
passenger  to  such  place  shall  be  fined  $25.  The  railway  company 
may  refuse  to  carry  passengers  who  refuse  to  occupy  the  place  to 
which  they  are  assigned.  The  railway  company  shall  have  power  to 
eject  such  a  passenger  from  such  improper  place  and  shall  not  be 
liable  for  damages. 

Any  railway  company  not  complying  with  the  provisions  of  this 
act  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  and  shall  be  fined  not  less  than 
$100  nor  more  than  $500  and  each  day  and  each  train  shall  be  a 
separate  offense.  Any  conductor,  agent  or  other  railway  officer  not 
carrying  out  the  provisions  of  this  act  shall  be  fined  not  less  than  $25 
and  not  more  than  $50  for  each  offense.  Railways,  other  than  street 
railways,  shall  keep  this  law  posted  in  a  conspicuous  place  in  each 
passenger  coach  and  waiting  room.  An  exception  to  the  provisions 
of  this  act  is  allowed  in  the  case  of  an  officer  with  prisoners  who  may 
be  assigned  to  the  coach  set  aside  for  the  prisoners'  race.  A  person 


72  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

with  visible  and  distinct  admixture  of  African  blood  shall  be  deemed 
for  the  purposes  of  this  act  to  belong  to  the  African  race,  all  others 
to  the  white  race. 

1893 

Acts,  1893,  p.  200.  All  railway  companies  shall  provide  equal  but 
separate  accommodations  for  the  white  and  colored  races,  by  pro 
viding  two  or  more  passenger  cars  for  each  train,  or  one  car  with  a 
partition  of  wood.  There  shall  also  be  provided  separate  waiting 
rooms  equal  and  sufficient  in  accommodation  at  all  passenger  depots 
in  the  State. 

The  foregoing  provisions  do  not  apply  to  street  railways.  If  the 
passenger  coach  is  disabled  in  the  event  of  accident,  the  railway 
company  shall  be  relieved  from  the  operation  of  this  act. 

No  person  shall  occupy  the  seats  in  a  coach  or  apartment  or 
waiting  room  set  apart  for  members  of  another  race.  An  exception 
to  this  provision  shall  be  made  for  officers  in  charge  of  prisoners  of  a 
different  race,  who  may  be  assigned  with  their  prisoners  to  coaches 
where  they  will  least  interfere  with  the  comfort  of  other  passengers. 
The  provisions  of  the  act  shall  not  apply  to  employees  of  trains  in 
discharge  of  their  duties,  nor  to  freight  trains  carrying  passengers. 

Railway  companies  may  haul  sleeping  or  chair  cars  for  the  exclu 
sive  use  of  either  the  white  or  the  African  race  separately,  but  not 
jointly.  On  all  lines  of  railway  less  than  thirty  miles  long,  passenger 
coaches  may  be  divided  by  a  partition. 

1895 

Acts,  1895,  April  IQ.  Assessors,  county  clerks,  and  collectors,  shall 
indicate  on  tax  list  whether  a  person  assessed  is  of  white  or  colored 
race.  The  collector  shall  indicate  the  amount  of  taxes  paid  respec 
tively  by  persons  of  the  white  and  of  the  colored  race. 

1897 

Acts,  1897,  p.  70.  The  state  superintendent  of  public  instruc 
tion  is  authorized  to  arrange  for  county  normal  institutes  for  white 
teachers,  and  such  additional  ones  for  the  colored  teachers  at  such 
places  as  may  be  selected  by  the  superintendent. 

1903 

Acts,  ipoj,  p.  178.  All  persons  operating  any  street-car  line  in  any 
city  of  the  first  class,  are  required  to  operate  separate  cars,  or  to 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  73 

separate  white  and  colored  passengers  in  cars  for  both,  and  to  set 
apart  in  such  car  so  operated  for  both,  a  portion  to  be  occupied  by 
white  persons  and  a  portion  to  be  occupied  by  colored  passengers. 

No  discrimination  in  quality  or  convenience  of  accommodations 
for  the  two  races  shall  be  made. 

The  conductor  shall  have  the  right  to  change  designation,  to 
decrease  or  increase  space  for  either  race,  or  may  require  any  pas 
senger  to  change  his  seat. 

All  passengers  are  required  to  take  the  seats  assigned.  If  they 
refuse  they  are  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  the  fine  not  to  exceed  $25. 

Any  corporation  failing  to  make  such  separation  is  guilty  of  a 
misdemeanor,  the  fine  not  to  exceed  $25. 

Nothing  shall  prevent  running  extra  or  special  cars  exclusively 
for  either  white  or  colored  passengers,  if  regular  cars  are  operated. 

Acts,  1903,  p.  161.  In  the  state  penitentiary  and  in  all  county 
jails,  stockades,  convict  camps,  and  all  other  places  where  state  or 
county  prisoners  may  at  any  time  be  kept  confined,  separate  apart 
ments  shall  be  provided  for  white  and  negro  prisoners,  including 
separate  bunks,  beds,  bedding,  separate  dining-tables  and  all  other 
furnishings.  Any  such  place,  or  such  furnishing,  after  having  been 
assigned,  or  used,  by  one  race,  it  is  unlawful  to  change  to  the  use 
of  the  other. 

It  is  unlawful  for  a  white  prisoner  to  be  handcuffed  or  chained  or 
tied  to  a  negro  prisoner. 

Any  prison  officer  violating  the  provisions  of  this  act  is  guilty  of  a 
misdemeanor;  the  fine  to  be  $50  to  $200. 

1904 

Kirby's  Digest,  1904.  Section  5174-  All  marriages  of  white  persons 
with  negroes  or  mulattoes  are  illegal  and  void. 

Section  2640.  The  issue  of  all  marriages  deemed  null  in  law  shall 
be  deemed  legitimate. 

Kirby's  Digest,  1904.  Sections  7536  and  7613.  The  separate  school 
provisions  repeated. 

1907 

Laws,  1907,  p.  728.  That  Chapter  19  of  Kirby's  Digest  known  as 
the  "Civil  Rights  Bill"  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  repealed.  (This 
repealed  the  Civil  Rights  Act  of  1873  Laws,  p.  15.) 


74  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

California 
1849 

Constitution,  1849,  II.     Section  2.     Voting  limited  to  white  men. 

1850 

Laws,  1850,  p.  424.  Section  I.  All  marriages  of  white  persons  with 
negroes  or  mulattoes  are  illegal  and  void.  Contracting  such  mar 
riage  is  punishable  by  a  fine  of  from  $100  to  $1,000,  imprisonment 
from  three  months  to  ten  years,  or  both.  (See  Civil  Code,  1871, 
par.  60.) 

Sections  2,  j.  Any  person  knowingly  solemnizing  any  marriage 
forbidden  by  law  shall  be  fined  not  less  than  $100  nor  more  than 
$1,000,  or  imprisoned  not  less  than  three  months  nor  more  than  one 
year,  or  both. 

1854 

Laws,  1854,  Chapter  54.  Section  42.  Negroes  are  forbidden  to  be 
witnesses  in  any  case  where  a  white  person  is  a  party. 

1869-1870 

Laws  of  186^-1870,  p.  838-839.  African  and  Indian  children  must 
attend  separate  schools.  Upon  written  application  of  the  parents  or 
guardians  of  at  least  ten  such  children  a  separate  school  shall  be 
established.  A  less  number  may  be  provided  for  in  separate  schools 
in  any  other  manner. 

1880 

Laws,  1880,  p.  38.  Children  of  any  race  or  nationality,  from  six 
years  to  twenty-one  years  of  age  inclusive,  residing  in  the  district, 
shall  be  entitled  to  admission  to  the  public  schools.  (Provision 
repealed  the  separate  school  law  of  1869-1870.) 

1893 

Laws,  1893,  p.  220.  (Civil  Rights  Law.)  It  is  unlawful  to  refuse 
admission  to  anyone  over  twenty-one  years  of  age  with  a  ticket  of 
admission  acquired  by  purchase,  or  with  the  price  of  admission,  to 
an  opera  house,  theater,  melodeon,  museum,  circus,  caravan,  race 
course,  fair,  or  any  place  of  public  amusement  or  entertainment, 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  75 

except  that  persons  of  bad  character,  etc.,  may  be  refused.  The 
injured  person  may  recover  actual  damages  and  $100  in  addition. 

1897 

Laws,  1897,  p.  137.  (Civil  Rights  law.}  In  the  usual  form,  this  law 
specially  refers  to  "Inns,  restaurants,  hotels,  eating  houses,  barber 
shops,  bath-houses,  theaters,  skating  rinks,  and  all  other  places  of 
public  accommodation  or  amusement." 

Violating  the  act  or  inciting  or  aiding  its  violation,  rendered  the 
offender  liable  in  damages  to  not  less  than  $50,  recoverable  in  an 
action  at  law.  (Civil  Code,  1906,  p.  29-30.) 

IQOI 

Statutes  and  Amendments,  1 900-1901,  p.  335.  The  marriage  law 
was  amended,  by  adding  "Mongolian." 

Statutes  and  Amendments,  1900—1901,  p.  334.  Civil  rights  law  of 
1897,  p.  137,  repeated  in  somewhat  different  wording,  without  real 
change,  except  that  it  omits  "hotels"  in  the  section  concerning 
penalty,  retaining  it  elsewhere. 

1905 

Statutes  and  Amendments,  1905,  p.  55J.  This  statute  re-enacted  the 
civil  rights  law,  with  word  "hotel"  again  inserted  in  penalty  section. 


Colorado 
1861 

Ter.  Laws,  1861,  p.  25.    Section  5.    Voting  restricted  to  free  white  men. 

1,864 

General  Laws,  1864,  p.  108.  (Original  Law.)  Marriage  between 
negroes  and  mulattoes,  and  white  persons,  is  absolutely  void.  It 
shall  be  punished  by  a  fine  of  not  less  than  $50  and  not  more  than 
$500,  or  confinement  in  prison  for  not  less  than  three  months  nor 
more  than  two  years,  or  both.  (R.  S.  1908,  Section  4163,  5.) 

1876 

Constitution,  1876,  Article  IX.  Section  8.  Nor  shall  any  distinction  or 
classification  of  pupils  in  public  schools  be  made  on  account  of  race 
or  color. 


76  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

1885 

Laws,  1885,  p.  70.  Section  17.  In  the  census  alphabetical  list,  the 
color  shall  be  given. 

Laws,  1885,  p.  132.  (Civil  Rights  Act.)  All  persons  regardless  of 
race,  color  or  previous  condition  of  servitude  are  entitled  to  the 
full  and  equal  enjoyment  of  the  accommodations  of  inns,  restau 
rants,  churches,  barber  shops,  public  conveyances,  theaters,  and 
other  places  of  public  resort  or  amusement. 

Violation  of  the  foregoing  provisions  shall  be  punished  by  a  fine 
of  not  more  than  $500,  or  confinement  in  the  county  jail  not  exceed 
ing  three  months,  or  both. 

1895 

Laws,  1895,  p.  139.  (Civil  Rights  Act.)  All  persons  are  entitled  to 
the  full  enjoyment  of  the  accommodations  and  privileges  of  inns, 
restaurants,  eating  houses,  barber  shops,  public  conveyances  on  land 
or  water,  theaters  and  all  other  places  of  public  accommodation  and 
amusement,  subject  only  to  conditions  applicable  alike  to  all  citizens. 
In  case  of  violation  of  the  foregoing  provisions,  except  for  reasons 
applicable  alike  to  citizens  of  every  race  and  color,  and  regardless 
of  color  or  race,  there  shall  be  paid  by  the  person  so  violating  a 
forfeit  of  a  sum  not  less  than  $50  and  not  more  than  $500  to  the 
person  aggrieved.  Such  violation  shall  also  be  a  misdemeanor  and 
subject  to  the  penalty  of  a  fine  of  not  less  than  $10  and  not  more 
than  $300,  imprisonment  for  not  more  than  one  year,  or  both. 
Judgment  for  one  shall  bar  the  other  prosecution. 

1897 

Laws,  1897,  p.  115.  No  person  shall  be  denied  the  right  to  practise 
law  on  account  of  race  or  sex. 

1907 

Laws,  1907,  p.  241.  Section  7.  Certificates  of  death  shall  give  the 
race  or  color. 

Laws,  1907,  p.  244.  Section  14.  Birth  certificates  shall  give  the 
color  or  race  of  the  parents. 

1908 

Revised  Statutes,  1908.  Sections  4163,  4165.  Marriage  between 
negroes  and  mulattoes,  and  white  persons,  is  prohibited.  Such  a 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  77 

marriage  is  absolutely  void  and  is  a  misdemeanor  punishable  by 
imprisonment  from  three  months  to  two  years,  or  a  fine  of  from  $50 
to  $500,  or  both.  Issuing  such  a  license  is  a  misdemeanor,  punish 
able  by  a  fine  of  $100.  Performing  the  ceremony  is  punishable  by  a 
fine  of  $50  to  $500,  or  three  months  to  two  years'  imprisonment, 
or  both. 


Connecticut 

1833 

Laws,  1833,  Title  35.  No  person  shall  establish  in  this  state  any 
school  for  the  instruction  of  colored  persons  not  inhabitants  of  this 
state,  without  the  consent  in  writing  of  the  civil  authority.  A 
penalty  is  imposed  of  a  $100  fine  for  the  first  offense,  and  double  for 
every  other  offense.  Nothing  in  the  act  shall  refer  to  any  district 
school  established  under  the  laws  of  the  state. 

1838 

Laws,  1838,  Title  34.     Repealed  the  preceding  law. 

1845 

Amendments,  Article  8,  Adopted  October,  1845.  Every  white  male 
citizen  of  the  United  States  is  an  elector. 

1854 

General  Statutes,  1854,  p.  838.  Exempted  from  taxation  the  personal 
and  real  estate  of  persons  of  color. 

1866 

General  Statutes,  1866,  p.  707.    Same  as  1854  ^aw-    Exempted  from 

taxation  personal  and  real  property  of  persons  of  color. 

1875 

General  Statutes,  1875,  p.  154.  Provision  stricken  out,  regarding 
exemption  from  taxation,  of  1854  and  1866. 

1876 

Amendments,  Article  23,  Adopted  October,  1876.  Article  8  of  Amend 
ments  to  the  Constitution  is  amended  by  erasing  the  word  "white" 
from  the  first  line. 


78  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

1879 

Public  Acts,  1879,  p.  377,  Chapter  31.  The  commander-in-chief  is 
authorized  to  organize  four  independent  companies  of  infantry  to 
be  composed  of  colored  men.  Any  existing  company  of  the  Wilkins 
battalion  may  be  accepted  as  one  such  company  when  recruited  to 
the  minimum  number.  Such  four  companies  shall  not  be  attached 
to  any  existing  regiment  unless  in  case  of  war,  rebellion  or  invasion, 
but  may  be  organized  into  an  independent  battalion,  at  discretion  of 
Adjutant-General.  The  Quartermaster  General's  duty  is  to  provide 
such  companies  with  armories,  arms,  and  equipment,  from  any  sup 
plies  he  may  have,  upon  the  same  terms  and  conditions  as  other 
companies  of  infantry  are  now  provided,  also  with  uniforms  of  the 
same  quality  as  for  other  companies.  Said  four  companies  shall 
receive  the  same  pay  and  allowances  as  other  companies  for  one 
company  parade  in  the  Spring  and  one  in  the  month  of  September 
in  each  year,  also  the  same  pay  and  allowances  when  ordered  into 
service  or  ordered  into  encampment. 

1883 

Laws,  1883,  Chapter  zop,  p.  289.  Section  15.  Negro  Militia. 
Chapter  31  of  the  Public  Acts  of  1879  and  all  acts  and  parts  of  acts 
inconsistent  herewith  are  hereby  repealed,  but  this  acf  shall  not 
affect  the  organization  heretofore  and  now  existing  under  the  pro 
visions  of  said  Chapter  31,  but  the  companies  comprising  the  same 
shall  belong  to  the  battalion  at  large  as  herein  provided.  The 
forty  companies  of  infantry  shall  be  organized  into  four  regiments, 
one  for  each  congressional  district — and  one  battalion  at  large.  The 
battalion  at  large  shall  consist  of  not  more  than  four  companies 
and  shall  be  commanded  by  a  major. 

1884 

Laws,  1884,  p.  366.  (Offences  v.  the  person.)  Every  person  who  sub 
jects  or  causes  to  be  subjected  any  other  person  to  the  deprivation 
of  any  rights,  privileges  or  immunities  secured  or  protected  by  the 
Constitution  or  Laws  of  this  State,  or  of  the  United  States,  on  ac 
count  of  alienage,  color,  or  race,  shall  be  fined  not  more  than  $1,000, 
or  imprisoned  not  more  than  one  year,  or  both. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  79 

1887 

Laws,  1887,  p.  690.  Section  I.  (Life  Insurance.)  No  Life  Insurance 
Company  shall  make  any  distinction  or  discrimination  between  white 
persons  and  colored  persons,  wholly  or  partially  of  African  descent,  as 
to  the  premiums  or  rates  charged  for  policies  upon  the  lives  of  such 
persons,  nor  demand  greater  premiums  from  such  colored  persons,  nor 
make  any  rebate,  diminution  or  discount  upon  the  sum  to  be  paid 
in  case  of  death  of  such  colored  person  insured,  nor  insert  in  policy 
any  condition  nor  make  any  stipulation  whereby  such  person  shall 
bind  himself  to  accept  any  sum  less  than  full  value  on  account  of 
such  policy  other  than  imposed  upon  white  persons  in  similar  cases, 
and  every  such  stipulation  or  condition  so  made  or  inserted  shall  be 
void. 

Section  2.  (Affidavit  of  Examining  Physician.}  If  an  application 
of  a  colored  person  for  insurance  upon  his  life  is  refused,  the  company 
shall  furnish  an  affidavit  of  a  regular  examining  physician  of  such 
company  who  has  made  the  examination  stating  that  the  application 
has  been  refused,  not  because  of  color  but  solely  on  such  grounds  as 
would  be  applicable  to  white  persons  of  the  same  age  and  sex. 

Section  j.  (Penalty  for  discrimination  in  issuing  policies.)  Every 
corporation,  or  officer  or  agent,  violating  the  preceding  sections  by 
demanding  or  receiving  from  colored  persons  any  different  or 
greater  premium,  or  allowing  discount  or  rebate  on  premiums  paid 
or  to  be  paid  by  white  persons  of  the  same  age  and  sex,  general 
condition  of  health  and  hope  of  longevity,  or  by  making  rebate  or 
diminution  upon  sum  to  be  paid  upon  policy  in  case  of  death,  or  by 
failing  to  furnish  affidavit  required  by  previous  section,  shall  be 
fined  not  more  than  $100  (but  this  shall  not  affect  contracts  existing 
June  I,  1887). 

1889 

Laws,  i88p,  p.  74.  (Discrimination  in  favor  of  individuals  prohibited.) 
No  Life  Insurance  Company  shall  make  distinction  or  discrimination 
in  favor  of  individuals  between  insurants  of  same  class  and  expec 
tation  of  life  in  amount  of  premiums  or  dividends  or  benefits,  or 
in  any  other  of  the  terms  or  conditions,  nor  shall  any  company, 
agent,  broker  or  any  other  person,  make  any  contract  of  insurance 
or  agreement  other  than  is  plainly  expressed  in  the  policy  issued 


8o  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

thereon;  nor  shall  any  company  or  agent  pay,  allow  or  offer  as 
inducement  to  insurance  any  rebate  of  premium  or  any  special 
favor  or  any  inducement  whatever  not  specified  in  the  policy  of 
insurance. 

1905 

Public  Acts,  1905,  p.  323,  Chapter  III.  Every  person  who  deprives 
or  causes  to  be  deprived  another  of  the  full  and  equal  enjoyment 
of  the  advantages,  facilities,  accommodations  or  privileges  of  any 
place  of  public  accommodation,  amusement  or  transportation,  on 
account  of  alienage,  race  or  color,  or  who  on  that  account  shall 
discriminate  in  the  price  for  the  enjoyment  of  such  privileges,  sub 
ject  only  to  the  limitations  established  by  law  for  all  persons,  shall 
forfeit  to  the  person  injured  thereby  double  damages. 


Delaware 
1867 

Laws,  1866—1869,  p.  161.  The  punishment  for  members  of  all 
races  shall  be  the  same,  for  the  same  offense. 

1873 

Laws,  1871-18^3,  p.  686.  Resolved;  That  the  members  of  this 
General  Assembly,  for  the  people  they  represent,  and  for  them 
selves,  jointly  and  individually,  do  hereby  declare  uncompromising 
opposition  to  a  proposed  act  of  Congress,  introduced  by  Honorable 
Charles  Sumner  at  the  last  session,  and  now  on  file  in  the  Senate  of 
the  United  States,  known  as  the  "Supplemental  Civil  Rights  Bill," 
and  all  other  measures  intended  or  calculated  to  equalize  or  amalga 
mate  the  negro  race  with  the  white  race,  politically  or  socially,  and 
especially  do  they  proclaim  unceasing  opposition  to  making  negroes 
eligible  to  public  offices,  to  sit  on  juries,  and  to  their  admission  into 
public  schools  where  white  children  attend,  and  to  the  admission  on 
terms  of  equality  with  white  people  in  the  churches,  public  convey 
ances,  places  of  amusement,  or  hotels,  and  to  any  measure  designed 
or  having  the  effect  to  promote  the  equality  of  the  negro  with  the 
white  man  in  any  of  the  relations  of  life,  or  which  may  possibly 
conduce  to  such  result. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  81 

That  our  Senators  in  Congress  be  instructed,  and  our  Representa 
tives  requested,  to  vote  against  and  use  all  honorable  means  to 
defeat  the  passage  by  Congress  of  the  bill  referred  to  in  the  fore 
going  resolution,  known  as  the  "Supplemental  Civil  Rights  Bill," 
and  all  other  measures  of  a  kindred  nature,  and  any  and  every 
attempt  to  make  the  negro  the  peer  of  the  white  man. 


Revised  Statutes,  1874,  p.  207.  The  schools  shall  be  free  to  all  the 
white  children  of  a  district.  (Revised  Statutes,  1852,  p.  115.) 

Revised  Statutes,  1874,  p.  472.  Marriage  is  unlawful  between  white 
persons  and  negroes.  A  fine  of  $100  is  imposed  upon  the  parties 
to  such  a  marriage,  and  upon  the  preacher  solemnizing  it.  (Revised 
Statutes,  1829,  p.  400.) 

Revised  Statutes,  1874,  p.  485.  A  negro  or  mulatto  child  under  fifteen, 
whom  parents  cannot  maintain  —  or  do  not  bring  up  to  industry 
and  suitable  employment  —  may  be  bound  as  a  servant  till  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  if  a  male,  or  eighteen  years  of  age  if  a  female. 
(White  persons  were  bound  as  apprentices,  not  servants.) 

If  he  [such  servant]  run  away  or  absent  himself  without  leave  he 
shall  make  full  compensation  for  lost  time  and  the  expenses  of 
recovering  him.  The  Superior  Court  shall  have  power  so  to  extend 
the  term. 

If  such  female  servant  have  a  bastard  child,  she  shall  serve  one 
year  after  expiration  of  the  original  term. 

If  such  servant  marry  without  written  consent,  he  shall  be  given 
six  months'  extended  term. 

Idle  and  vagabond  free  negroes  and  free  mulattoes  may  be  com- 
pulsorily  hired  out  to  service.  The  constable  may  be  ordered  to  hire 
out  said  negro  or  mulatto  as  a  servant,  at  public  auction  for  the 
residue  of  the  current  year. 

1875 

Laws,  1875-1877,  Volume  15,  p.  322.  No  keeper  of  an  inn,  tavern, 
hotel  or  restaurant,  or  other  place  of  public  entertainment  or  re 
freshment  of  travellers,  guests,  or  customers,  shall  be  obliged  by 
law  to  furnish  entertainment  or  refreshment  to  persons  whose  recep 
tion  or  entertainment  by  him  would  be  offensive  to  the  major  part 


82  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

of  his  customers  and  would  injure  his  business.  The  term  customers 
shall  be  taken  to  include  all  who  have  occasion  for  entertainment 
or  refreshment. 

Section  2.  The  proprietor  of  a  theater  or  other  place  of  public 
amusement  shall  not  be  obliged  to  receive  into  his  show  or  admit 
into  the  place  where  he  is  pursuing  his  occupation  any  persons  whose 
reception  or  entertainment  by  him  would  be  offensive  to  the  major 
part  of  his  customers  and  would  injure  his  business. 

Section  j.  Carriers  of  passengers  may  assign  a  particular  place 
in  their  cars,  carriages  or  boats,  to  such  of  their  customers  as  they 
may  choose  to  place  there,  and  whose  presence  elsewhere  would  be 
offensive  to  the  major  part  of  the  travelling  public,  where  their 
business  is  conducted.  The  quality  of  accommodation  shall  be 
equal  for  all,  if  the  same  price  for  carriage  is  required  from  all. 

1877 

Laws,  1877,  p.  82.  Imposed  a  separate  tax  on  colored  people  for  the 
benefit  of  colored  schools.  A  separate  fund  was  created,  to  be  used 
by  the  Delaware  association  for  the  education  of  colored  people. 

1883 

Laws,  1883,  p.  81.  Money  collected  from  the  colored  people's  school 
tax  must  be  used  for  the  education  of  colored  children.  The  State 
Superintendent  of  Schools  was  given  charge. 

1889 

Laws,  1889,  p.  147.  Act  to  encourage  education  of  the  colored 
people.  Taxes  property  of  colored  persons  for  support  of  colored 
schools. 

Section  2.    A  separate  fund  for  colored  schools  is  provided. 

Section  j.     $6,000  was  appropriated  annually. 

Section  4.  The  superintendents  of  Free  Schools  were  given  con 
trol  of  the  schools. 

Laws,  1889,  pp.  651,  655,  658,  660,  663.  Incorporated  colored  schools 
were  established,  under  boards  of  trustees  elected  by  the  school 
district. 

1891 

Laws,  i8pi,  Chapter  66.  Section  7.  Free  text-books  for  colored 
schools  shall  be  furnished. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  83 

Section  10.  County  superintendents  shall  have  entire  manage 
ment  and  control  of  the  colored  schools  of  the  state. 

Laws,  1891,  Chapter  119,  p.  354.  A  State  College  for  Colored  Stu 
dents  is  provided,  to  instruct  in  agriculture,  mechanical  arts,  English 
language,  etc.,  with  special  reference  to  application  to  industries 
of  life.  Other  scientific  and  classical  studies  may  be  taught,  and 
a  normal  school  may  be  connected. 

1893 

Code,  1893,  p.  593.  Section  I.  Repeats  intermarriage  law  of  1852. 
(Revised  Statutes,  1852,  p.  236.) 

Section  2.  Negroes  or  mulattoes  may  be  married  without  license 
or  banns,  provided  they  produce  a  certificate  of  a  justice  of  the 
peace  that  they  have  made  satisfactory  proof  of  freedom;  or  being 
a  servant — shall  produce  written  consent  of  master.  Performing 
ceremony  without  this — $20  fine.  A  free  person  marrying  with  a 
servant  without  consent  must  pay  to  master  $30  if  man  and  $15  if 
woman. 

Laws,  1893,  p.  693.  Section  14.  Incorporated  colored  schools  are 
abolished,  and  they  shall  be  subject  to  the  same  laws  and  under  the 
supervision  of  the  superintendent  of  schools  for  the  county,  in  the 
same  manner  as  is  now  provided  for  unincorporated  colored  schools. 
Section  75.  Money  appropriated  for  the  support  of  colored  schools 
shall  be  paid  direct  to  the  superintendents  of  schools  to  be  by  them 
expended  for  the  support  of  the  colored  schools. 

Laws,  1893,  Chapter  638.  Any  colored  boy,  under  the  age  of  twelve 
— who  is  an  orphan  or  abandoned  by  his  parents  and  uncared  for — 
may  be  committed  to  "St.  Joseph's  Society  for  Colored  Missions  of 
Wilmington,"  during  the  term  of  his  minority. 

1895 

Laws,  1895,  p.  19.  Various  provisions  to  improve  and  promote 
colored  schools.  No  change  in  privileges  or  restrictions. 

1897 

Laws,  1897,  p.  431.  Various  provisions  for  colored  schools.  No 
change  in  privileges  or  restructions. 


84  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

Laws,  1897,  p.  433.  Delaware  Colored  Teachers  State  Institute  is 
established. 

1898 

Laws,  1898,  p.  193.  Schools  in  districts  for  white  schools  shall  be 
free  for  all  white  children  of  the  district  of  six  years  of  age  and  over, 
and  similar  provision  is  made  for  colored  schools.  It  is  provided  that 
any  district  may  establish  a  kindergarten,  which  shall  or  may  be  free 
for  all  the  white  or  colored  children  (as  the  case  may  be),  of  the  age 
of  four  years  or  over. 

I9II 

Laws,  i pi i,  p.  682.  Marriage  is  unlawful  between  a  white  person 
and  a  negro  or  mulatto. 

Such  marriage  is  void.  It  is  a  misdemeanor,  punishable  by  a  fine 
of  $100,  or  in  default  of  payment,  confinement  in  prison  not  exceed 
ing  thirty  days  is  inflicted. 

Issuing  a  license,  or  solemnizing  the  marriage  knowingly,  is  a  mis 
demeanor,  punishable  by  a  fine  of  $100,  or  in  default  of  payment, 
imprisonment  not  exceeding  thirty  days. 

If  the  marriage  was  solemnized  outside  of  the  state,  after  which 
the  parties  live  and  cohabit  within  the  state  as  husband  and  wife,  it 
is  a  misdemeanor,  with  same  penalty  as  if  the  marriage  had  occurred 
in  the  state. 

1913 

Laws,  1913,  p.  259.  A  hospital  for  colored  consumptives  is  author 
ized,  under  the  care  of  the  Delaware  State  Tuberculosis  Commission. 

Florida 
1865 

Laws,  186$,  p.  24.  It  is  a  capital  crime  to  assault  a  white  female  with 
intent  to  commit  rape,  or  to  be  accessory  thereto. 
Laws,  1865,  p.  24.  If  any  negro,  mulatto,  or  other  person  of  color 
shall  intrude  himself  into  any  railroad  car  or  other  public  vehicle 
set  apart  for  the  exclusive  accommodation  of  white  people,  he  shall 
be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  and,  upon  conviction,  shall  be 
sentenced  to  stand  in  the  pillory  for  one  hour,  or  be  whipped,  not 
exceeding  thirty-nine  stripes,  or  both,  at  the  discretion  of  the  jury, 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  85 

nor  shall  it  be  lawful  for  any  white  person  to  intrude  himself  into 
any  railroad  car  or  other  public  vehicle  set  apart  for  the  exclusive 
accommodation  of  persons  of  color,  under  the  same  penalties. 

Laws,  1865,  p-  30.  A  person  of  color  is  one  who  has  as  much  as 
one-eight  negro  blood. 

Constitution,  1865,  XIV.  Section  2.  Negroes  are  permitted  to 
testify  only  in  proceedings  founded  upon  injury  to  a  negro,  or  in 
cases  affecting  the  rights  and  remedies  of  negroes. 

Laws,  1865,  pp.  35-36.  A  statute  relative  to  testimony  in  general.  It 
provided  that  the  testimony  of  negroes  should  not  be  taken  by 
deposition  in  writing  or  upon  written  interrogation,  or  "otherwise 
than  in  such  manner  as  will  enable  the  court  or  jury  to  judge  the 
credibility  of  the  witness." 

1866 

Laws,  1865,  p.  31.  Remarriage.  All  colored  persons  living  together 
as  husband  and  wife,  who  are  not  legally  married,  who  wish  to  con 
tinue  living  together,  are  required  to  be  married  within  nine  months 
from  the  date  of  the  passage  of  the  act.  If  they  fail  to  be  married, 
and  continue  to  live  together,  punished  as  guilty  of  fornication  and 
adultery.  Their  children  legitimated  by  the  marriage. 

After  nine  months  from  passage  of  act,  all  laws  as  to  marriage  be 
tween  white  persons  shall  apply  to  colored  population. 
Laws,  1866,  p.  22.    (Statute  amended.)     If  persons  of  color  live  to 
gether  as  husband  and  wife  and  recognize  each  other  as  such,  they 
are  considered  married,  and  their  children  legitimate. 

1868 

Constitution,  1868,  XIV.  Section  i.  Granted  suffrage  to  negroes, 
removing  the  limitation  to  white  persons. 

1873 

Laws,  1873,  p.  25,  Chapter  1947.  (Civil  Rights  Bill.)  Prohibition 
of  discrimination  on  account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of 
servitude,  in  the  full  and  equal  enjoyment  of  the  accommodations, 
etc.,  of  inns,  public  conveyances  on  land  and  water,  licensed  thea 
ters,  other  places  of  public  amusement,  common  schools,  public 
institutions  of  learning,  cemeteries,  and  benevolent  associations 


86  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

supported  by  general  taxation.  The  prohibition  does  not  apply  to 
private  schools  or  cemeteries  established  exclusively  for  white  or 
for  colored  persons.  Discrimination  in  any  laws  by  the  use  of  the 
word  "white,"  is  prohibited. 

1881 

Digest  Laws,  1881,  p.  75J.  Section  8.  It  is  not  lawful  for  any  white 
person  to  intermarry  with  any  negro  person.  Such  marriage  is 
null  and  void  and  the  issue  bastard. 

Issuing  the  license  or  performing  the  ceremony  is  punishable  by 
a  fine  of  $1,000  of  which  one-half  shall  be  paid  to  the  informer. 
(Laws,  1832,  January  23.) 

1885 

Constitution,  1885,  Article  XII.  Section  12.  White  and  colored 
children  shall  not  be  taught  in  the  same  school,  but  impartial  pro 
vision  shall  be  made  for  both. 

Constitution,  1885,  Article XVI.  Section  24.  All  marriages  between  a 
white  person  and  a  negro,  or  between  a  white  person  and  a  person 
of  negro  descent  to  the  fourth  generation  inclusive,  are  hereby  for 
ever  prohibited. 

1887 

Acts,  1887,  p.  116.  Sections  I  and  2.  Railroad  companies  shall  sell 
to  all  respectable  negro  persons  first-class  tickets  at  the  same  rates 
as  to  white  persons  and  shall  furnish  and  set  apart  for  negro  persons 
a  car  in  each  train  equally  as  good  and  provided  with  the  same 
facilities  for  comfort  as  for  white  persons.  No  white  person  shall 
be  permitted  to  ride  in  a  negro  car  or  to  insult  or  annoy  any  negro 
in  such  car.  No  negro  shall  ride  in  a  white  person's  car;  but  female 
colored  nurses  having  care  of  children  or  of  sick  persons  may  ride 
in  the  white  person's  car. 

Section  j.  Any  conductor  or  railroad  company  violating  the  pro 
visions  of  this  act  as  to  accommodations  of  white  and  colored  per 
sons,  is  liable  to  a  fine  not  exceeding  $500. 

Section  4.  In  case  of  a  railroad  company  not  complying  with 
this  act,  punishment  may  be  inflicted  upon  the  president,  receiver, 
general  manager,  or  superintendent  thereof,  or  upon  each  and  every 
one  of  them. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  87 

Constitution,  1887,  Article  XII.  Section  12.  White  and  colored 
children  shall  not  be  taught  in  the  same  school,  but  impartial  pro 
vision  shall  be  made  for  both. 

1892 

Acts,  1892,  p.  269.    A  colored  normal  school  established  at  Talla 

hassee. 

1895 

Acts,  1895,  p.  96.  It  shall  be  a  penal  offense  for  any  individual 
or  association  to  conduct  any  school,  on  any  grade,  either  public 
or  private,  wherein  white  persons  and  negroes  are  instructed  or 
boarded  in  the  same  building,  or  are  taught  in  the  same  class,  or 
at  the  same  time  by  the  same  teachers. 

The  violation  of  this  act  by  either  patronizing  or  teaching  in 
such  a  school  shall  be  punished  by  a  fine  not  less  than  $150  and  not 
more  than  $500,  or  by  imprisonment  in  the  county  jail  for  not  less 
than  three  months  and  not  more  than  six  months.  (General  Stat 
utes,  1906,  Section  3810.) 


Acts,  1897,  Chapter  4165.  Section  j.  Florida  Industrial  School  for 
Boys.  (Reform  School.)  It  shall  have  two  separate  buildings,  not 
nearer  than  one-quarter  mile,  one  for  white  and  one  for  negro  boys. 
White  and  negro  convicts  shall  not  in  any  manner  be  associated 
together  or  worked  together. 

1899 

Acts,  1899,  Chapter  4749,  p.  135.  Section  I.  Where  persons  of 
African  blood  have  prior  to  January  i,  1866,  cohabited  and  lived 
together  as  husband  and  wife,  and  prior  to  said  date,  recognized 
each  other  before  world  and  were  recognized  as  husband  and  wife, 
they  are  deemed  such  so  long  as  such  relationship  existed  between 
them,  and  their  children  are  legitimate. 

1903 

Acts,  1903,  Chapter  5,  140,  p.  76.  Section  I.  Intermarriage  with  a 
negro,  mulatto,  or  any  person  with  one-eighth  negro  blood  shall  be 


88  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

punished  by  imprisonment  not  exceeding  ten  years  or  fine  not 
exceeding  $1,000.  Such  marriage  is  utterly  null  and  void. 

A  county  judge  knowingly  issuing  a  license  shall  be  punished  by 
imprisonment  not  exceeding  two  years,  or  a  fine  not  exceeding 
$1,000. 

Performing  such  a  ceremony  shall  be  punished  by  imprisonment 
not  exceeding  one  year,  or  a  fine  not  exceeding  $1,000. 

The  living  in  adultery  or  fornication  of  a  white  person  and  a  negro 
or  mulatto,  shall  be  punished  by  imprisonment  not  exceeding 
twelve  months  or  a  fine  not  exceeding  $1,000. 

Any  negro  man  and  white  woman  (or  the  reverse),  not  married 
to  each  other,  who  shall  habitually  live  in  and  occupy  in  the  night 
time  the  same  room,  no  other  person  over  fifteen  years  of  age  being 
present,  shall  each  be  punished  by  imprisonment  not  exceeding 
twelve  months  or  a  fine  not  exceeding  $500.  (See  General  Statutes, 
1906,  Section  3529,  etc.) 

Acts,  1903,  Chapter  5202.  Section  22.  In  no  case  shall  any  colored 
officer  command  white  troops. 

1905 

Acts,  1905,  Chapter  5447.  Section  i.  It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any 
officer  to  chain  white  female  or  male  prisoners  to  colored  prisoners 
in  their  charge.  Violation  shall  be  a  misdemeanor,  punishable  by  a 
fine  not  exceeding  $100,  or  confinement  in  the  county  jail  not  ex 
ceeding  six  months,  or  both. 

Acts,  1905,  p.  99.  Separation  of  races  is  required  on  all  street  rail 
ways.  The  company  must  provide  either  separate  cars,  or  divisions 
within  the  car.  Exception  is  made  of  colored  nurses  in  attendance 
upon  white  children  or  white  sick  persons.  Failure  to  enforce  such 
separation  on  part  of  company  shall  be  punished  by  a  fine  of  $50 
for  each  offense.  A  passenger  occupying  wrong  division  shall  be 
punished  by  fine  of  $25  or  by  imprisonment  of  twenty  days. 
39  Southern,  398,  at  p.  400.  (50  Florida,  127.)  The  court  declared 
the  above  exception  (in  Laws,  1905,  p.  99)  contrary  to  the  Four 
teenth  Amendment,  as  giving  a  Caucasian  mistress  right  to  have  her 
child  attended  in  the  Caucasian  department  of  the  car  by  its 
African  nurse,  and  withholding  from  an  African  mistress  the  equal 
right  to  have  her  child  attended  in  the  African  department  by  its 
Caucasian  nurse. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  89 

1907 

Acts,  1907,  Chapter  5617.  Section  i.  Urban  and  suburban  (or 
either)  electric  cars  as  common  carriers  of  passengers  shall  furnish 
equal  but  separate  accommodations  for  white  and  negro  passengers. 

Section  2.  Separate  cars,  fixed  divisions,  movable  screens,  or 
other  methods  of  division  in  cars,  shall  be  provided. 

Section  j.  Urban  and  suburban  electric  cars.  The  failure  to 
provide  such  separation  is  a  misdemeanor,  punishable  by  a  fine  of 
from  $50  to  $500,  which  may  be  enforced  against  the  president, 
receiver,  general  manager,  superintendent,  or  other  person  operat 
ing  such  cars. 

Section  4.  Each  day  of  such  refusal,  failure,  or  neglect  is  a  sepa 
rate  and  distinct  offense. 

Section  5.  Any  conductor,  etc.,  failing  to  enforce  such  separation 
is  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  punishable  by  a  fine  not  exceeding  $25, 
or  by  imprisonment  in  the  county  jail  not  exceeding  sixty  days,  or 
both. 

Section  6.  Any  passenger  wilfully  occupying  the  place  of  other 
race,  is  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  punishable  by  a  fine  not  exceeding 
$50,  or  by  imprisonment  in  the  county  jail  not  exceeding  three 
months,  or  both.  The  conductor  is  vested  with  full  power  and 
authority  to  arrest  such  a  passenger  and  to  eject  him  from  the  car. 

Section  7.  Plain  letters  in  conspicuous  place,  "For  White,"  "For 
Colored." 

Section  8.  Nothing  in  this  act  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  apply  to 
nurses  of  one  race  attending  children  or  invalids  of  the  other  race. 

Section  9.  This  shall  not  prevent  running  of  special  or  extra  cars, 
in  addition  to  regular  schedule  cars,  for  the  exclusive  accommoda 
tion  of  either  white  or  negro  passengers. 

Acts,  1907,  Chapter  5619.  Section  I.  Separate  waiting  rooms  and 
ticket  windows  must  be  provided  for  white  and  colored  persons  at 
all  depots. 

Section  2.  The  railroad  commissioners  of  the  State  of  Florida  are 
authorized  to  require  the  building  or  the  alteration  of  all  depots  so 
as  to  secure  separation  of  white  and  colored  passengers. 

Section  j.  Any  railroad  company  refusing  to  comply  with  the 
provisions  of  act  or  the  regulations  of  the  railroad  commissioners, 
are  liable  to  a  fine  not  exceeding  $5,000,  to  be  imposed  by  the 
railroad  commissioners. 


90  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

1909 

Acts,  1909,  p.  171.  The  county  commissioners  of  the  respective 
counties  are  required,  within  twelve  months  from  the  passage  of  this 
act,  so  to  arrange  the  jails  that  it  shall  be  unnecessary  to  confine  in 
the  same  room,  cell,  or  apartment,  white  and  negro  prisoners,  or 
male  or  female  prisoners.  As  soon  as  the  jails  are  so  arranged  that 
this  section  may  be  complied  with,  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  white  and 
negro,  or  male  and  female,  prisoners  to  be  confined  in  the  county 
jails  in  same  cell,  room  or  apartment,  or  so  confined  as  to  be  per 
mitted  to  commingle  together.  The  county  commissioners  are 
authorized  to  appropriate  from  the  general  revenue  fund  of  the 
county  such  money  as  is  necessary.  Any  board  of  county  com 
missioners  and  any  sheriff  wilfully  refusing  to  comply  with  the 
provisions  of  this  act  shall  be  removed  from  office  by  the  Governor. 

Acts,  i pop,  Chapter  5893.  Section  I.  Separate  accommodations 
required.  Passengers  on  railroads  are  required  to  occupy  the  respec 
tive  cars  or  divisions  of  cars  for  their  race.  No  railroad  shall  use 
divided  cars  for  separate  races  without  the  permission  of  the  railroad 
commission,  nor  any  car  in  which  the  divisions  are  not  permanent. 

Section  2.  The  railroad  commissioners  of  the  State  of  Florida  are 
given  power  and  authority  to  prescribe  reasonable  rules  and  regu 
lations  relating  to  the  separation  of  white  and  colored  passengers 
in  passenger  cars  operated  by  any  common  carrier. 

'Section  3.  If  any  common  carrier  violate  any  of  the  provisions 
of  this  act,  or  any  regulation  of  the  railroad  commissioners,  a  fine 
not  exceeding  $500  may  be  imposed  by  the  railroad  commissioners. 

Section  4.  A  passenger  occupying  a  place  set  apart  for  the  other 
race,  may  be  fined  not  exceeding  $500  or  confined  not  exceeding  six 
months.  An  exception  is  made  of  persons  lawfully  in  charge  of  or 
under  charge  of  persons  of  other  race. 

1913 

Acts,  1913,  p.  311.  From  the  time  of  the  passage  of  this  act,  it  shall 
be  unlawful  in  this  state,  for  white  teachers  to  teach  negroes  in 
negro  schools,  and  for  negro  teachers  to  teach  in  white  schools. 
Violation  shall  be  punished  by  a  fine  not  to  exceed  $500,  or  by 
imprisonment  in  county  jail  not  to  exceed  six  months. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  91 

Georgia 
1865-1866 

Acts,  1865-1866,  p.  239.  All  negroes,  mulattoes,  mestizos,  and  their 
descendants,  having  one-eighth  negro  or  African  blood,  shall  be 
known  as  persons  of  color. 

Acts,  1865-1866,  p.  239.  Colored  persons  living  together  on  March 
9,  1866,  as  husband  and  wife,  shall  be  regarded  as  such.  If  any  man 
or  woman  lived  with  more  than  one  husband  or  wife,  he  shall  choose 
one  of  them,  and  the  ceremony  of  marriage  shall  be  performed 
between  these  two.  If  he  fail  to  choose,  he  or  she  shall  be  guilty  of 
fornication  or  adultery. 

Every  colored  child  born  before  March  9,  1866,  is  a  legitimate 
child  of  his  mother,  but  only  a  legitimate  child  of  his  colored  father 
when  born  within  what  was  regarded  as  wedlock. 
Acts,  1865-1866,  p.  241.  Any  officer  issuing  a  marriage  license  to 
parties,  either  of  whom  is  of  African  descent  and  the  other  a  white 
person,  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  and  fined  not  less  than  $200 
nor  more  than  $500,  or  confined  in  the  common  jail  three  months,  or 
both. 

Any  officer,  or  minister  of  the  Gospel,  marrying  such  persons 
together,  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  fined  not  less  than 
$500  nor  more  than  $1,000,  or  confined  in  the  common  jail  for  six 
months,  or  both.  (See  Code,  1861,  Section  1664.)  (Nothing  as  to 
intermarriage  appears  to  be  contained  in  the  codes  of  1821,  1837,  or 
1859.  But  see  Acts,  1859,  p.  54.) 

1865 

Constitution,  1865,  Article  II.  Section  5,  Paragraph  4.  It  shall  be 
the  duty  of  the  General  Assembly  to  prescribe  when  testimony  of 
negroes  shall  be  admitted  in  courts. 

Constitution,  1865,  Article  II.  Section  5.  Paragraph  5.  The  Gen 
eral  Assembly  at  its  next  session  shall  pass  a  law  legalizing  existing 
slave  marriages,  and  arranging  for  future  marriages,  and  regulating 
the  right  of  negroes  to  devise  and  inherit  property. 

1866 

Acts,  1866,  p.  59.  Any  free  white  citizen  shall  be  entitled  to  instruc 
tion  in  schools  free  of  charge. 


92  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

Acts,  1866,  p.  156.  Ordained  colored  ministers  may  celebrate  mar 
riage  for  persons  of  African  descent  only,  under  same  regulations  as 
required  for  white  citizens. 

1868 

Constitution,  1868,  Article  II.  Section  2.  Removed  the  limitation 
of  the  suffrage  to  whites  only. 

1870 

Acts,  1870,  p.  427,  428.  Railroads  are  required  to  furnish  equal 
accommodations  to  all,  without  regard  to  race,  color  or  previous 
condition  of  servitude.  Any  railroad  violating  this  requirement  may 
be  sued  and  the  person  wronged  recover  such  sum  as  the  court  thinks 
proper,  not  to  exceed  $10,000. 

1872 

Laws,  1872,  p.  69.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Board  of  Education 
to  make  arrangements  for  the  instruction  of  the  children  of  white 
and  negro  races  in  separate  schools.  As  far  as  practicable  they 
shall  provide  the  same  facilities  for  both  races  in  respect  to  attain 
ments  and  abilities  of  teachers  and  the  length  of  term  time;  but  the 
children  of  the  white  and  colored  races  shall  not  be  taught  together 
in  any  public  school  of  this  state.  Schools  admitting  both  races 
shall  receive  none  of  the  public  school  fund. 

1874 

Laws,  1874,  p.  IOQ.  Section  1116.  Returns  shall  be  made  to  the 
comptroller-general  of  the  state  of  all  taxes  paid  by  colored  tax 
payers.  He  shall  show  these  in  his  annual  report. 

1877 

Constitution,  Article  8.  Section  I.  The  schools  shall  be  free  to  all 
children  of  the  state,  but  separate  schools  shall  be  provided  for  the 
white  and  colored  races. 

1885 

Laws,  1885,  p.  399.  Asylums  are  to  have  separate  apartments  for 
insane  negroes. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  93 

1891 

Laws,  1890-1891,  p.  157.  All  railroads  shall  furnish  equal  accommo 
dations,  in  separate  cars  or  compartments  of  cars,  for  white  and  for 
colored  passengers,  but  this  section  shall  not  apply  to  sleeping-cars. 

Railroad  companies  shall  furnish  comfortable  seats,  and  have 
cars  well  and  sufficiently  lighted  and  ventilated.  Violation  a 
misdemeanor. 

Conductors  must  assign  passengers  to  their  place;  and  all  con 
ductors  of  dummy,  electric  and  street  cars  are  required  to  assign  pas 
sengers  to  seats,  so  as  to  separate  the  white  and  colored  races  as 
much  as  practicable;  and  all  conductors,  etc.,  are  invested  with 
police  powers  to  carry  out  these  provisions. 

If  the  passenger  remains  in  the  wrong  place  it  is  a  misdemeanor. 
The  conductor  is  given  right  to  eject  him. 

Where  the  car  is  divided  into  compartments,  the  space  shall  be 
proportioned  to  the  usual  and  ordinary  travel. 

Employees  shall  not  allow  white  and  colored  passengers  to  occupy 
the  same  compartment.  Violation  by  an  employee  is  a  misdemeanor. 

This  does  not  apply  to  nurses  or  servants  in  attendance  upon 
employers. 

Laws,  1890-1891,  p.  21  j.  No  person  controlling  convicts  shall  con 
fine  white  and  colored  convicts  together,  or  work  them  chained  to 
gether,  or  chain  them  going  to  and  from  their  work  or  at  any  other 
time.  Violating  this  provision  by  any  person  or  any  member  of  a 
firm  is  a  misdemeanor. 

The  Prison  Commission,  where  practicable,  shall  employ  white 
persons  and  negroes  in  separate  institutions  and  locations,  and  they 
shall  be  provided  with  separate  eating  and  sleeping  apartments. 

1893 

Laws,  1893,  p.  121.  Inmates  of  reformatories  shall  be  separated 
according  to  color. 

1894 

Laws,  1894,  p.  jr.  The  names  of  colored  and  of  white  tax-payers 
shall  be  made  out  separately  on  the  tax  digest. 


94  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

1895 

Code,  1895.  Section  1378.  Colored  and  white  children  shall  not 
attend  the  same  school.  No  teacher  receiving  or  teaching  white 
and  colored  pupils  in  the  same  school  shall  be  allowed  any  com 
pensation  out  of  the  common  school  fund. 

1897 

Laws,  1897,  p.  70.  Section  679.  Upon  the  penal  farm,  the  com 
mission  shall  provide  for  keeping  separate  and  apart  the  white  and 
colored  convicts  when  not  at  work,  and  when  at  work  as  far  as 
practicable. 

1899 

Laws,  1899,  p.  66.  Sleeping-car  companies  and  railroad  companies 
shall  have  the  right  to  assign  all  passengers  to  seats  and  berths,  and 
shall  separate  white  and  colored  passengers  in  sleeping-cars  in  mak 
ing  assignments.  They  shall  not  permit  white  and  colored  pas 
sengers  to  occupy  the  same  compartment. 

Passenger  remaining  in  other  compartment  than  assigned  is 
guilty  of  a  misdemeanor. 

This  act  shall  not  be  construed  to  compel  such  companies  to 
carry  persons  of  color  in  sleeping-cars  or  parlor  cars. 

The  act  shall  not  apply  to  colored  nurses  or  servants,  traveling 
with  employers. 

Conductors  and  employees  shall  have  police  powers  to  enforce 
the  provisions  of  the  act.  Refusing  or  failing  to  eject  a  passenger 
who  is  violating  the  provisions  of  the  act,  is  a  misdemeanor. 

1905 

Laws,  1905,  p.  117.  Any  person  may  grant  to  any  municipal  cor 
poration  lands  for  a  park,  and  in  said  conveyance  provide  that  the 
use  of  said  park  shall  be  limited  to  the  white  race  only,  or  to  white 
women  and  children  only,  or  to  the  colored  race,  etc.,  or  to  any 
other  race,  or  women  and  children  of  any  other  race  only. 

Any  municipal  corporation  may  accept  such  a  gift  for  the  exclu 
sive  use  of  the  class  named. 

Laws,  1905,  p.  1 66.  Abolished  colored  troops  of  the  state,  active 
and  retired,  and  discharged  men  and  officers  from  the  military  ser 
vice  of  state. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  95 

1912 

Laws,  1912,  pp.  162,  171.  (Ann.  Code,  1914,  Section  1525  m.)  The 
board  of  education  shall  provide  separate  schools  for  the  white  and 
colored  races,  to  extend  on  an  equitable  basis  the  benefits  of  the 
law  to  white  and  colored  children,  due  regard  being  had  to  differ 
ences  in  population. 

1914 

Annotated  Code,  1914.  Section  6581.  The  General  Assembly  may 
make  appropriations  of  money  to  any  college  or  university  (not 
exceeding  one  in  number),  now  established  or  hereafter  to  be  estab 
lished,  in  this  state,  for  the  education  of  persons  of  color. 
Annotated  Code,  1914.  Section  1596.  Insane  negroes  shall  be 
separated  in  a  class  by  themselves,  in  the  Georgia  State  Sanitarium. 
Section  1611.  Apartments  must  be  provided  for  insane  negroes. 


Idaho 
1867 

Laws,  1866-1867,  p.  71.  Section  j.  All  marriages  of  white  persons 
with  negroes,  mulattoes,  Indians,  or  Chinese,  are  illegal  and  void. 

Section  4.  Such  marriages,  and  the  solemnizing  of  them,  consti 
tute  a  misdemeanor,  punishable  by  fine  of  from  $100  to  $1,000,  or 
imprisonment  from  three  months  to  ten  years. 

1887 

Revised  Statutes.  Section  2425.  Intermarriage.  Same  provision 
as  Laws,  1866-1867,  p.  71,  Section  3. 

1889 

Constitution,  1889,  Article  IX.  Section  6.  No  distinction  or  classi 
fication  of  pupils  in  schools  shall  be  made  on  account  of  race  or  color. 

1908 

Revised  Code,  1908,  I.  Section  2616.  Intermarriage  is  prohibited 
between  negroes  and  white  persons  and  is  illegal  and  void.  A  mar 
riage  valid  where  consummated  outside  this  state  is  valid  in  Idaho. 


96  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

Illinois 
1819 

Laws,  1819,  p.  354.  Negroes  coming  into  the  state  to  settle  must 
have  a  certificate  of  freedom  and  must  register  at  the  clerk's  office. 
Resident  negroes  also  were  required  to  register. 

1827 

Laws,  1827,  February  2.  Section  j.  A  negro  or  mulatto  shall  not 
be  a  witness  in  court  against  a  white  person.  A  person  with  one- 
quarter  part  negro  blood  is  a  mulatto.  (Revised  Statutes,  1845, 
P-  I54-) 

1848 

Constitution,  1848,  Article  VI.    Section  I.    Voting  is  limited  to  white 

males. 

1853 

Public  Laws,  1853,  p.  57.  It  is  a  misdemeanor  for  a  negro  to  come 
into  the  state  with  intention  of  residing.  Such  negroes  shall  be 
prosecuted  and  fined,  or  sold  for  a  time  to  pay  the  fine. 

1865 

Public  Laws,  1865,  p.  705.  Repealed  act  making  it  a  misdemeanor 
for  a  negro  to  come  into  the  state  to  reside. 

1874 

Laws,    18^4,    approved,    March    24.       (1874,   Revised    Statutes,   p. 

983.) 

Article  X  VI.  Section  4.  All  boards  of  education,  etc.,  are  prohibited 
from  excluding  from  the  public  schools,  directly  or  indirectly,  any 
child  on  account  of  the  color  of  such  child. 

Any  school  officer,  who  shall  exclude,  or  aid  in  excluding  from  the 
public  schools,  on  account  of  color,  any  child  who  is  entitled  to  the 
benefits  of  such  school,  shall  be  fined,  upon  conviction,  not  less 
than  $5  nor  more  than  $100. 

Any  person  who  shall  by  threats,  menace,  or  intimidation,  pre 
vent  any  colored  child  entitled  to  attend  a  public  school,  from 
attending  such  school,  may  be  fined  not  exceeding  $25. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  97 

1885 

Laws,  1885,  p.  64.  (Civil  Rights  Act.}  All  persons  shall  be  entitled 
to  the  equal  privileges  of  inns,  restaurants,  eating-houses,  barber 
shops,  public  conveyances  on  land  or  water,  theaters  and  all  other 
places  of  public  accommodation  and  amusement,  subject  only  to 
conditions  applicable  alike  to  all  citizens. 

Any  person  violating  this  act  by  denying  the  provisions  thereof, 
or  of  inciting  another  to  such  denial,  shall  forfeit  and  pay  not  less 
than  $25  nor  more  than  $500  to  the  person  aggrieved;  and  shall 
also  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  subject  to  a  fine  of  not  more 
than  $500,  or  imprisonment  not  more  than  one  year,  or  both.  Judg 
ment  in  favor  of  the  party  aggrieved  or  punishment  following  upon 
an  indictment,  shall  be  a  bar  to  either  prosecution  respectively. 

1891 

Laws,  1891,  p.  85.  The  Civil  Rights  Law  of  1885  was  amended  by 
adding  the  following.  Justices  of  the  Peace  in  the  county  wherein 
an  offense  shall  be  committed  shall  have  jurisdiction  in  all  civil 
cases,  etc. 

On  appeal,  the  Appellate  Court  shall  have  jurisdiction  to  render 
judgment  for  a  sum  exceeding  the  jurisdiction  of  a  Justice  of  the 
Peace. 

Laws,  1891,  p.  163.  Marriages  where  one  or  both  of  parties  were 
slaves  at  the  time,  are  valid,  and  the  children  are  legitimate,  and 
placed  on  same  footing  as  to  right  to  inherit  property  as  children  of 
other  marriages.  Provisions  of  act  extend  to  such  marriages  en 
tered  into  without  the  state,  as  far  as  property  within  state  is 
concerned. 

1896 

Statutes,  1896,  p.  3730.  Section  292.  School  officers  are  prohibited 
from  excluding  children  from  the  public  schools  directly  or  indirectly 
on  account  of  color.  Penalty,  $5  to  $100  fine. 

1897 

Laws,  1897,  p.  137.  Section  I  of  the  Civil  Rights  Law  of  1885  was 
amended,  adding,  hotels,  soda-fountains,  saloons,  bathrooms, 
theaters,  skating-rinks,  concerts,  cafes,  bicycle-rinks,  elevators, 


98  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

ice-cream  parlors  or  rooms,  railroads,  omnibusses,  stages,  street 
cars,  boats. 

1903 

Laws,  1903,  p.  158.  Civil  Rights  Law  of  1885  extended  to  include 
funeral  hearses.  (The  title  and  enacting  clause  were  irregular.) 
Section  I  was  amended  to  read  as  follows.  Inns,  restaurants,  eat 
ing  houses,  hotels,  soda-fountains,  saloons,  barber  shops,  bath 
rooms,  theaters,  skating-rinks,  concerts,  cafes,  bicycle-rinks,  eleva 
tors,  ice-cream  parlors  or  rooms,  railroads,  omnibusses,  stages, 
street  cars,  boats,  funeral  hearses,  public  conveyances  on  land  and 
water,  and  all  other  places  of  public  accommodation  and  amuse 
ment,  subject  only  to  conditions  applicable  alike  to  all  citizens. 


Laws,  i  pi  I,  p.  288.  Amendment  to  Civil  Rights  Law  of  1885  as 
subsequently  amended,  by  adding  thereto  the  following.  Nor  shall 
there  be  any  discrimination  on  account  of  race  or  color  in  the  price 
to  be  charged  and  paid  for  lots  or  graves  in  any  cemetery  or  place 
for  burying  the  dead,  but  the  price  shall  be  applicable  alike  to  all 
citizens  of  every  race  and  color. 

1915 

Laws,  1915,  p-  96.  Appropriated  $25,000  for  an  exhibition  and 
celebration  to  commemorate  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  emanci 
pation  of  the  Negro.  Created  a  commission  to  conduct  the  same. 


Indiana 

1843 

Revised  Statutes,  p.  314.  Public  schools.  The  law  provided  for  a 
tax  levy  for  support  of  schools,  but  omitted  "all  negroes  and  mulat- 
toes"  from  the  tax  list.  See  court  interpretation  in  1850. 
Revised  Statutes,  1843,  p.  718.  Section  251.  Evidence  of  Indians 
and  negroes  is  prohibited,  except  where  negroes  or  Indians  only 
are  parties. 

Revised  Statutes,  1843,  p.  595.     No  white  person  shall  marry  any 
negro  or  mulatto.     (1843  Laws,  p.  970.)     No  white  person  and 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  99 

person  of  one-eighth  or  more  negro  blood  shall  intermarry.  Penalty, 
hard  labor  in  state  prison  from  one  year  to  ten  years,  and  a  fine 
from  $1,000  to  $5,000. 

1850 

2  Indiana,  p.  332.  (1850.)  The  court  held  negro  children  could 
not  be  received  in  schools  even  if  paying  their  own  tuition,  if  white 
parents  objected. 

Constitution,  1851,  Article  II.  Section  2.  Voting  was  limited  to 
white  males. 

Constitution,  1851,  Article  XIII.  Prohibits  any  free  negro  or 
mulatto  from  coming  into  state;  and  persons  who  employ  or  en 
courage  them  to  remain  in  the  state  are  fined  $10  to  $500.  The 
fines  shall  go  to  a  fund  for  the  colonization  of  negroes. 

I86l 

Acts,  1861,  p.  i S3-  Lands  to  be  conveyed.  No  person  except  a 
citizen  of  United  States,  or  an  alien  at  the  time  a  bona  fide  resident 
of  the  United  States,  an  Indian,  a  Negro,  or  a  Mulatto,  or  other 
person  of  mixed  blood — shall  convey  land  except  in  such  cases  as 
are  provided  for  by  law. 

1862 

Revised  Statutes,  1862,  p.  166.  Same  as  1843,  Revised  Statutes,  p. 
718,  on  evidence. 

Revised  Statutes,  1862,  p.  429.  Intermarriage  law  of  1843  repeated. 
(Revised  Statutes,  1852,  p.  361.) 

1863 

Laws,  1863.  No  Colonization  Act  for  Negroes  appears  in  the  1863 
statutes,  though  referred  to  as  follows  in  Laws,  1865,  p. 63. 

I865 

Laws,  1 86$,  p.  63.  Whereas  the  colonization  agent  appointed  (for 
the  colonization  of  free  negroes)  is  drawing  an  annual  salary  without 
rendering  any  adequate  service  to  the  state,  the  Act  of  1863  for 
Colonization  of  Negroes  is  repealed. 


ioo  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

Laws,  165,  p.  162.  All  persons  shall  be  competent  as  witnesses 
without  distinction  as  to  color  or  blood,  but  no  negro  or  mulatto  who 
has  come  or  shall  thereafter  come  into  the  state  contrary  to  Thir 
teenth  Article  of  the  Constitution  prohibiting  immigration  of  free 
negroes  shall  be  competent  as  a  witness  where  a  white  person  is  a 
party  in  interest  in  a  case,  while  said  article  continues  in  force.  When 
the  negro  excluded  is  a  party  in  a  case,  his  opponent  shall  also  be 
excluded. 

1866 

26  Indiana,  299.  (1866.)  Preceding  statute  held  against  Federal 
Constitution,  on  ground  that  the  negro  had  become  a  citizen,  and  as 
such  was  entitled  to  migrate  from  one  state  to  another. 

1867 

Laws,  1867,  p.  225.    Every  competent  person  is  allowed  to  testify. 

1869 

Laws,  1869,  p.  41.  School  trustees  shall  organize  colored  children 
into  separate  schools  having  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  other 
schools.  If  there  is  not  a  sufficient  number  within  attending  dis 
tance,  several  districts  may  be  consolidated.  If  there  is  not  a 
sufficient  number  thus  to  be  consolidated,  the  trustees  shall  pro 
vide  other  means  of  education  for  said  children  or  shall  use  their 
proportion  of  school  revenue  to  the  best  advantage. 

1877 

Acts,  1877,  p.  124.  Section  6581.  School  trustees  of  any  township, 
town,  or  city  may  organize  the  colored  children  into  separate 
schools,  having  all  the  rights,  privileges  and  advantages  of  other 
schools,  Provided  that  in  case  there  may  not  be  provided  separate 
schools  for  the  colored  children,  then  they  shall  be  allowed  to 
attend  the  public  schools  with  the  white  children ;  Provided  further 
that  when  any  child  in  a  colored  school  shall  make  sufficient  ad 
vancement  to  be  in  a  higher  grade  than  afforded  by  colored  schools, 
as  shown  by  examination  or  certificate,  he  shall  be  entitled  to  enter 
a  school  for  white  children  of  like  grade,  and  no  distinction  shall 
therein  be  made  on  account  of  race  or  color  of  such  colored  child. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  101 


Laws,  1879,  p.  228.  Section  4335.  Distinction  prohibited.  In  ad 
ministering  the  charity  of  any  association  (for  the  care  of  orphans) 
no  distinction  shall  be  made  in  selecting  the  objects  of  its  care 
on  the  account  of  the  nativity  of  such  orphans,  and  associations 
formed  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  an  asylum  for  colored  orphan 
children,  exclusively,  shall  be  entitled  to  the  allowance  provided 
in  this  act  for  each  colored  orphan  child  cared  for  (an  allowance  of 
so  much  per  day  for  any  orphan  cared  for). 

1885 

Acts,  1885,  p.  76.  (1908,  Burns  Annotated  Statutes,  Section  3863.) 
All  persons  shall  be  entitled  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  accommo 
dation  of  inns,  restaurants,  eating-houses,  barber-shops,  public 
conveyances  on  land  and  water,  theaters,  and  all  places  of  public 
accommodation  and  amusement,  subject  only  to  conditions  applica 
ble  alike  to  all  citizens.  Any  one  violating  this  act  or  inciting 
such  violation  shall  forfeit  and  pay  to  the  person  aggrieved  a  sum 
not  to  exceed  $100;  also  he  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  and 
subject  to  a  fine  not  to  exceed  $100  or  imprisonment  not  more  than 
thirty  days  or  both. 

No  citizen  possessing  other  qualifications  shall  be  disqualified  to 
serve  as  grand  or  petit  juror  in  any  court  on  account  of  race  or 
color.  Any  officer  excluding  or  failing  to  summon  any  citizen  for 
cause  aforesaid  is  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  and  shall  be  fined  not 
more  than  $100,  or  imprisoned  for  not  more  than  thirty  days,  or 
both. 

1908 

Annotated  Statutes  ,  1908.  Sections  2641—  2642  and  8367.  Intermarriage 
is  prohibited  between  white  persons  and  persons  having  one-eighth 
or  more  negro  blood.  Counselling  or  assisting  such  intermarriage 
is  subject  to  a  fine  of  from  $100  to  $1,000.  Such  intermarriage 
knowingly,  if  the  white  person  knows  the  other  is  of  negro 
or  mixed  blood,  is  subject  to  fine  of  not  less  than  $100  nor  more 
than  $1,000,  or  imprisonment  in  state  prison  not  less  than  one  nor 
more  than  ten  years.  The  marriage  is  void. 


IO2  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

1909 

Acts,  1909,  p.  315.  The  Adjutant  General  shall  provide  for  the  or 
ganization,  maintenance  and  discipline  of  a  battalion  of  colored 
infantry  of  the  Indiana  National  Guard  in  accordance  with  the 
provisions  of  the  law  for  the  organization,  maintenance  and  disci 
pline  of  the  Indiana  National  Guard. 


Iowa 

1838-1839 

Laws,  1838-1839,  p.  65.    Certificates  of  freedom  are  required  of 

blacks  coming  to  reside  in  the  state,  with  a  bond  and  security. 

1839-1840 

Laws,  1839-1840,  Chapter  25.  Section  13.  The  marriage  of  white  per 
sons  with  negroes  and  mulattoes  is  illegal  and  void.  (Does  not 
appear  in  laws  again.  Omitted  in  Code  of  1851.) 

1846 

Constitution,  1846,  Article  II.    Section  I.    Voting  is  limited  to  white 

males. 

Laws,  1846,  Chapter  99.    Section  66.    The  schools  shall  be  open  and 

free  to  all  white  persons. 

1848 

Laws,  1848,  Chapter  80.  Section  51.  White  persons  only  are  recog 
nized  in  the  school  list. 

1851 

Code,  1851.    Section  1160.    All  property  of  blacks  and  mulattoes  is 

exempt  from  taxation  for  school  purposes. 

Laws,  1851,  p.  172.    Free  negroes  or  mulattoes  were  not  to  settle  in 

state.     They  must  be  notified  to  leave  by  township  and  county 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  103 

officers  in  three  days.  If  they  did  not  leave,  they  were  subject  to 
arrest,  fine  of  $2  for  each  day  of  staying  after  notice,  and  costs.  They 
must  be  confined  in  jail  till  fine  was  paid  and  they  consented  to  leave. 
Free  negroes  in  the  state  were  to  remain. 

1857 

Constitution,  1857,  Article  I.  Section  I.  All  men  have  certain  inalien 
able  rights  such  as  enjoying  and  defending  life  and  liberty,  acquiring 
property,  and  pursuing  and  obtaining  safety  and  happiness.  (Held 
that  this  forbids  discrimination  by  a  common  carrier  against  a  pas 
senger  on  account  of  color.  Coger  v.  Northwestern  U.  Packet  Co. 
(1873)-  37  Iowa,  145.) 

Constitution,  1857,  Article  IX.  Section  12.  The  board  of  education 
shall  provide  for  the  education  of  all  the  youths  of  the  state,  through 
a  system  of  common  schools. 

Constitution,  1857,  Article  II.  Section  I.  Voting  is  limited  to  white 
males. 

1858 

Laws,  1858,  Chapter  52.  Section  30,  Sub-division  4.  Colored  youths 
must  be  in  separate  schools,  except  in  districts  with  unanimous  con 
sent  of  persons  sending  children  to  school  in  the  district.  (Held 
unconstitutional,  1858,  in  The  District  v.  City  of  Dubuque,  7  Iowa, 
262,  which  held  that  the  expression  "all  youths,"  in  Constitution, 
1857,  Article  9,  Section  12,  prohibited  any  distinction  being  made 
between  white  and  colored  children.) 

1864 

Laws,  1864,  p.  6.  Repeal  of  law  of  1851  prohibiting  immigration  of 
free  negroes. 

1868 

Laws,  1868,  p.  290.  The  word  "white"  was  stricken  from  Constitution 
by  legislature.  Submitted  to  popular  vote  and  ratified. 

1870 

Laws,  1870,  p.  21.  The  right  to  practice  law  was  extended  to  women 
and  members  of  all  races. 


IO4  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

1884 

Laws,  1884,  p.  107.  (Civil  Rights  Law.)  All  persons  are  entitled  to 
the  full  and  equal  enjoyment  of  the  accommodations  and  privileges 
of  inns,  public  conveyances,  barber-shops,  theaters  and  other 
places  of  amusement.  Violating  the  provisions  of  the  act,  or  inciting 
others  to  such  violation  renders  the  offender  guilty  of  a  misde 
meanor. 

1892 

Laws,  i8p2,  p.  68.  Civil  Rights  Law  amended,  by  adding  "Inns, 
restaurants,  chop-houses,  eating-houses,  lunch-counters,  and  all 
other  places  where  refreshments  are  served,  and  bath-houses." 

After  such  amendment  the  act  read,  "Inns,  restaurants,  chop- 
houses,  eating-houses,  lunch-counters,  and  all  other  places  where 
refreshments  are  served,  public  conveyances,  barber-shops,  bath 
houses,  theaters,  and  all  other  places  of  public  amusement.  Viola 
tion  is  a  misdemeanor."  (Code,  1897,  Section  5008,  p.  1956.) 


Kansas 

1855 

Constitution,  1855,  Article  II.  Section  2.  Suffrage  extended  to  white 
persons  and  to  civilized  Indians  (Negroes  not  included).  Topeka 
Constitution. 

Laws,  1855,  Chapter  108,  p.  414.  First  Territorial  Legislature.  Mar 
riage  between  white  persons  and  negroes  or  mulattoes  is  forbidden 
and  is  illegal  and  void. 

1859 

Laws,  1859,  Chapter  93.    Repealed  law  of  1855,  Chapter  108,  p.  414, 

forbidding  intermarriage. 

1862 

Comp.  Laws,  1862,  Chapter  46,  Article  IV.  Section  18  (Original). 
Cities  of  not  less  than  7,000.  All  taxes  for  school  purposes  from 
black  or  mulatto  persons  shall  be  used  for  the  benefit  of  the  children 
of  such  persons,  in  schools  separate  and  apart  from  schools  author 
ized  for  the  children  of  white  persons. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  105 

1868 

General  Statutes,  1868,  Chapter  18,  Article  5.  Section  75.  Boards 
of  education  of  cities  of  the  first  class  (over  150,000)  are  given 
"power  to  organize  and  maintain  separate  schools  for  the  education 
of  white  and  of  colored  children." 

1874 

Laws,  1874,  p.  82.  (General  Statutes,  1909,  Section  2916.}  If  any 
trustees,  etc.,  of  any  state  university,  college,  or  other  school  of 
public  instruction,  or  those  in  charge  of  any  inn,  hotel  or  boarding- 
house,  or  any  place  of  entertainment  or  amusement  for  which  a 
license  is  required  by  any  of  the  municipal  authorities  of  this  state, 
or  those  in  charge  of  any  steamboat,  railroad,  stagecoach,  omnibus, 
street  car,  or  any  other  means  of  public  carriage  for  persons  or 
freight  shall  make  any  distinction  on  account  of  race,  color,  or 
previous  condition  of  servitude,  it  shall  be  a  misdemeanor,  punish 
able  by  a  fine  of  not  less  than  $10  nor  more  than  $1,000,  and  the 
offender  sjiall  also  be  liable  in  damages  to  the  person  injured  thereby. 
All  fines  collected  by  virtue  of  this  act  shall  be  paid  over  to 
the  public  school  fund  of  the  county  in  which  the  offense  is  com 
mitted. 

1876 

Laws,  1876,  p.  238.  Revision  of  School  Law.  Omitted  the  provi 
sion  of  Laws,  1868,  Chapter  18,  Article  5,  Section  75,  as  to  Boards 
of  Education. 

Laws,  1876,  p.  269.  Section  29.  Cities  of  the  second  class  shall 
have  free  schools,  free  to  all  children. 

1879 

Laws,  1879,  p.  163,  Chapter  I.  Amendment  to  School  Law.  Cities 
of  first  class  may  separate  races  in  schools,  except  in  the  high  school, 
where  no  discrimination  shall  be  made  on  account  of  color. 

1889 

Laws,  1889,  p.  329.  Public  schools  in  the  City  of  Wichita,  a  city  of 
the  first  class.  Section  4.  No  discrimination  in  the  high  school  shall 
be  made  on  account  of  race  or  color. 


io6  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

1905 

Laws,  1905,  Chapter  414.  Section .  I.  Schools  in  Kansas  City, 
Kansas,  may  organize  and  maintain  separate  schools  for  education 
of  white  and  colored  children,  including  high  schools;  but  no  dis 
crimination  on  account  of  color  shall  be  made  in  high  schools,  ex 
cept  as  provided  herein. 


Kentucky 

1852 

Laws,  1852,  p.  603.    Schools  admit  "free  white  children." 

1865 

Laws,  1865-1866,  p.  31.  Homestead  Act.  Homesteads  of  $1,000 
in  value  shall  be  exempt  from  execution  or  taxation.  Section  6 
provides  that  this  act  shall  only  apply  to  white  persons. 

Laws,  186^-1866,  p.  38.  A  negro  can  testify  only  where  negroes  are 
parties. 

1865-1866 

Laws,  1865-1866,  p.  37.  All  colored  persons  living  together  as  hus 
band  and  wife,  and  who  continue  to  do  so,  are  regarded  as  legally 
married  and  their  children  legitimate.  Must  appear  before  clerk  of 
county  court,  and  declare  they  had  been  living  as  husband  and  wife 
and  wished  to  continue  so. 

1866 

General  Laws,  1866,  p.  735.  All  negroes  may  sue,  acquire  property, 
etc.,  in  the  same  manner  as  white  persons.  Negroes  shall  be  compe 
tent  witnesses  in  civil  proceedings  where  negroes  are  the  only  par 
ties,  and  in  criminal  proceedings  where  the  negro  is  defendant. 

General  Laws,  1866,  p.  735.  It  is  prohibited  for  any  white  person  to 
intermarry  with  any  negro  or  any  descendant  of  any  negro  to  the 
third  generation  inclusive,  though  one  ancestor  of  each  generation 
was  a  white  person.  Such  intermarriage  shall  be  a  felony,  punish 
able  by  imprisonment  in  the  state  penitentiary  not  more  than  five 
years.  (See  Revised  Statutes,  1852,  p.  384.) 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  107 

General  Laws,  1866,  p.  736.  All  persons  without  distinction  of  color 
are  declared  subject  to  the  same  penalties  for  offenses,  except  that 
the  laws  for  the  punishment  of  negroes  for  rape  on  white  women  are 
continued. 

General  Laws,  1866,  p.  738.  The  trustees  of  a  school  district  may 
cause  a  separate  school  to  be  taught  for  the  education  of  negro 
children. 

1867 

Laws,  1867,  p.  94.  Negro  capitation  taxes,  and  also  a  special  tax  of 
$2  per  capita  upon  negroes,  shall  be  used  for  the  benefit  of  negro 
paupers  and  for  the  education  of  negro  children. 

1869 

Laws,  i86p,  p.  7.     A  tax  on  white  property  for  white  schools,  is 

provided. 

Laws,  1869,  p.  127.    The  school  trustees  are  to  encourage  indigent 

white  children  to  attend  school. 

Laws,  i86p,  p.  52.    Law  against  rape,  applied  only  to  white  women. 

No  mention  of  negro  women. 

1871-1872 

Laws,  1871-1872,  p.  7.  Section  6  of  Act  to  exempt  homesteads  from 
sale  for  debt  (Laws,  1865-1866,  p.  31)  is  amended  so  as  hereafter 
to  extend  the  provisions  of  said  act  to  every  bona  fide  house-keeper 
with  a  family  within  this  commonwealth,  irrespective  of  race  or 
color. 

1873 

Laws,  1873-1874,  p.  63.  A  uniform  system  of  common  schools  for 
the  education  of  colored  children  is  established.  A  school  fund  is 
created  known  as  the  colored  school  fund,  to  consist  of  taxes  and 
fines  of  negroes,  and  of  donations.  No  school  district  shall  contain 
more  than  one  hundred  or  less  than  twenty  colored  children.  There 
shall  be  three  colored  school  trustees  in  each  district  who  shall 
have  the  management  of  colored  schools.  Appeals  from  them  may 
be  taken  to  the  county  commissioner.  It  is  unlawful  for  a  colored 
child  to  attend  a  white  school,  and  the  reverse.  No  colored  school 


io8  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

shall  be  located  within  one  mile  of  a  white  school,  except  in  cities  and 
towns,  where  it  may  not  be  within  six  hundred  feet. 

1876 

Laws,  1876,  p.  112.  Separation  in  lunatic  asylums  provided  for 
Negro  lunatics  must  not  be  kept  in  the  same  buildings  as  white 
lunatics. 

1891 

Laws,  1891-1892-1893.  Common  School  Act,  Article  XIV,  p.  1,490. 
Colored  school  trustees  shall  be  elected  in  the  same  manner  as  white 
trustees.  No  tax  shall  be  levied  upon  property  or  any  services  re 
quired  of  any  white  person  for  benefit  of  schools  for  colored  children, 
and  the  reverse.  It  is  not  lawful  for  white  children  to  attend  colored 
schools,  and  the  reverse.  Colored  school  officers  and  teachers  are 
authorized  to  organize  teachers  institutes  for  themselves,  like  white 
institutes. 

Constitution,  1891,  Article  VI.  Section  187.  In  distributing  school 
funds  no  distinction  shall  be  made  on  account  of  race  or  color,  and 
separate  schools  for  white  and  colored  children  shall  be  main 
tained. 

1892 

Laws,  1891-1892-1893,  p.  63.  Any  railroad  company,  steam  or 
otherwise,  on  any  railway  line  or  track  within  state,  shall  provide 
separate  coaches  for  white  and  colored  persons,  a  good  and  substan 
tial  wooden  apartment  being  deemed  a  separate  coach.  They  must 
have  signs  stating  the  race  for  which  they  are  set  apart. 

There  shall  be  no  discrimination  in  quality  of  accommodations 
for  white  and  colored  passengers. 

Any  railway  failing  to  comply  with  this  act  shall  be  fined  from 
$500  to  $1,500. 

Conductors  shall  assign  passengers  to  place,  if  they  refuse  to  go, 
the  conductor  may  eject  them  and  no  damages  shall  accrue. 

Any  conductor  failing  to  enforce  this  law  shall  be  fined  from  $50 
to  $100. 

This  is  not  to  apply  to  employees  of  railways,  or  persons  em 
ployed  as  nurses,  or  officers  in  charge  of  prisoners. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  109 

1893 

Laws,  1893,  p.  925.  (Code,  1913,  Section  2097).  Marriage  is  pro 
hibited  and  declared  void  between  a  white  person  and  a  negro  or 
mulatto. 

Laws,  1893,  p.  963.  A  normal  school  for  colored  persons  was  estab 
lished,  and  a  department  for  the  education  of  colored  students  in 
agriculture  and  mechanical  arts. 

1894 

Laws,  1894,  March  10.  Donations  and  gifts  for  education  of  colored 
children  shall  be  used  for  that  purpose.  A  census  of  colored  children 
between  six  years  and  twenty  years  shall  be  taken.  Repeats  provi 
sions  of  school  law  of  1891-1892-1893,  p.  1,490. 

Laws,  1894,  p.  157.  Separate  coach  law  amended.  Adds  to  excep 
tions  the  transportation  of  passengers  in  any  caboose  car  attached 
to  a  freight  train. 

1898 

Laws,  1898,  p.  102.  Where,  during  time  of  slavery,  in  Kentucky, 
colored  persons  lived  together  as  husband  and  wife,  the  children 
are  legitimate.  Where  a  parent  subsequently  intermarried  with 
another  colored  person  and  had  children,  the  slave  children  shall 
share  in  the  proportion  of  their  number  to  the  number  from  the 
subsequent  marriage. 

1904 

Laws,  1904,  p.  129.  The  property  of  one  race  must  not  be  taxed 
for  the  support  of  schools  of  the  other  race. 

Laws,  1904,  p.  181.  (Berea  College  Act.}  Section  I.  It  shall  be 
unlawful  for  any  person,  corporation  or  association  of  persons  to 
maintain  or  operate  any  college,  school  or  institution  where  persons 
of  the  white  and  negro  races  are  both  received  as  pupils  for  instruc 
tion;  and  any  person  or  corporation  who  shall  operate  or  maintain 
any  such  college,  school  or  institution  shall  be  fined  $1,000,  and 
any  person  or  corporation  who  may  be  convicted  of  violating  the 
provisions  of  this  act  shall  be  fined  $100  for  each  day  they  may 
operate  said  school,  college  or  institution  after  such  conviction. 


no  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

Section  2.  Any  instructor  who  shall  teach  in  any  school,  college, 
or  institution  where  members  of  said  two  races  are  received  as 
pupils  for  instruction  shall  be  guilty  of  operating  and  maintaining 
same  and  fined  as  provided  in  the  first  section  hereof. 

Section  j.  It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  white  person  to  attend 
any  school  or  institution  where  negroes  are  received  as  pupils  or 
receive  instruction,  and  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  negro  or  colored 
person  to  attend  any  school  or  institution  where  white  persons  are 
received  as  pupils  or  receive  instruction.  Any  person  so  offending 
shall  be  fined  $50  for  each  day  he  attends  such  institution  or  school ; 
provided,  that  the  provisions  of  this  law  shall  not  apply  to  any 
penal  institution  or  house  of  reform. 

Section  4.  Nothing  in  this  act  shall  be  construed  to  prevent  any 
private  school,  college  or  institution  of  learning  from  maintaining 
a  separate  and  distinct  branch  thereof,  in  a  different  locality,  not 
less  than  twenty-five  miles  distant,  for  the  education  exclusively  of 
one  race  or  color. 

Section  5.  This  act  shall  not  take  effect,  or  be  in  operation,  before 
the  1 5th  of  July,  1904. 

1906 

Berea  College  v.  Commonwealth,  I2j  Kentucky,  209  (1906}.  So  much 
of  statute  (Laws,  1904,  p.  181,  Berea  College  act],  as  imposes  punish 
ment  for  operating  an  institution  of  learning  in  which  white  and 
colored  persons  may  be  taught  at  same  time  and  in  same  place,  is 
valid;  so  much  as  prohibits  the  operation  by  any  institution  of 
learning  of  separate  branches  for  white  and  colored  persons  less 
than  twenty-five  miles  distant  from  each  other,  is  void. 
Laws,  1906,  p.  jij.  It  is  unlawful  to  present  or  participate  in,  or 
permit  any  play  based  upon  antagonism  alleged  formerly  to  exist 
between  master  and  slave,  or  that  excites  race  prejudice.  Violating 
this  act  is  punishable  by  a  fine  from  $100  to  $500,  or  imprisonment 
in  the  country  jail  one  to  three  months,  or  both. 

1909 

Code,  1909.  Section  282.  An  institution  for  education  of  colored  deaf 
mutes  is  established  at  Donville,  under  same  board  as  white  insti 
tution.  "But  the  two  races  shall  be  forever  kept  entirely  separate 
and  distinct  from  each  other." 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  1 1 1 

Statutes  (Carroll],  1909,  p.  1,240.  Section  5 112.  Colored  blind  chil 
dren  are  cared  for  in  the  Kentucky  Institution  for  the  Education  of 
the  Blind. 

I9IO 

Acts,  1910,  p.  207.  All  negroes  and  mulattoes  living  together  as 
husband  and  wife  prior  to  February  14,  1866,  and  continuing  since 
till  the  death  of  either  or  both,  or  still  continuing  if  living,  are  legally 
married  and  their  issue  legitimate.  The  customary  marriages  and 
issue  of  same  of  negroes  and  mulattoes  prior  to  February  14,  1866, 
are  legitimate.  (Broader  than  1898  Laws,  p.  102.) 
Acts,  ipio,  p.  277.  "Whereas  some  difficulty  has  arisen  in  construing 
various  acts  appropriating  funds  for  the  benefit  of  schools  for  the 
white  and  colored  deaf,"  a  school  for  white  deaf  and  a  school  for 
colored  deaf  is  established  to  be  maintained  and  operated  as  separate 
and  distinct  institutions  but  under  the  same  superintendent  and  the 
vSame  Board  of  Commissioners. 

1915 

Statutes  (Carroll),  1915.  Section  4487.  The  provisions  of  the  com 
mon  school  law  shall  apply  to  such  graded  common  school  districts 
as  may  be  applied  for  and  organized  by  the  colored  people  of  this 
Commonwealth.  The  word  colored  is  to  be  substituted  for  the 
word  white.  No  white  person  shall  vote  at  any  election  held  by 
colored  people  under  provisions  of  this  law,  nor  shall  property  of 
any  white  person  be  taxed  to  maintain  any  graded  common  school 
for  colored  children  and  vice  versa,  nor  shall  any  white  child  attend 
any  graded  common  school  for  colored  children  and  vice  versa. 


Louisiana 

1868 

Acts,  1868,  p.  278;  Revised  Statutes,  1870,  p.  436.  Section  2212. 
Legalized  all  marriages,  provided  that  parties  within  two  years  make 
a  declaration  of  their  marriage  before  a  notary  or  other  proper  offi 
cer,  giving  the  date  of  marriage  and  the  number  and  age  of  children. 
Constitution,  1868,  Title  VII,  Article  135.  There  shall  be  no  separ 
ate  schools  or  institutions  of  learning  established  exclusively  for  any 


112  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

race.  (For  a  previous  provision  to  the  contrary  see  Constitution, 
1845,  Title  VII,  and  Constitution,  1852,  Title  VIII.) 

Constitution,  1868,  Title  6,  Article  p8.  Removed  limitation  of  suf 
frage  to  white  persons. 

1869 

Acts,  1869,  p.  j/,  Code  of  1870,  Section  456.  (See  1914.)  Against 
discrimination.  Common  carriers  shall  have  the  right  to  refuse  to 
admit  any  person  to  their  railroad  cars,  street  cars,  steamboats  or 
other  water  craft,  coaches,  omnibusses,  or  other  vehicles,  or  to 
expel  any  person  therefrom  for  refusal  to  pay  fare,  or  a  person  of 
infamous  character,  or  one  guilty  of  disorderly  conduct,  or  any  one 
who  shall  commit  any  act  tending  to  injure  the  business  of  the 
carrier,  prescribed  for  the  management  of  his  business  after  such 
rules  and  regulations  shall  have  been  made  known.  Provided,  that 
said  rules  and  regulations  make  no  discrimination  on  account  of 
race  or  color. 

Except  in  the  cases  enumerated  in  this  act  no  person  shall  be 
refused  admission  to  or  entertainment  at  any  public  inn,  hotel,  or 
place  of  public  resort. 

All  licenses  hereafter  granted  to  persons  engaged  in  business  or 
keeping  places  of  public  resort,  shall  contain  the  express  condition 
that  places  of  business  or  public  resort  shall  be  open  to  the  accom 
modation  and  patronage  of  all  persons  with  no  discrimination  on 
account  of  race  or  color.  The  penalty  for  violation  shall  be  the 
forfeiture  of  the  license  and  closing  of  the  place  of  business  or  of 
public  resort;  and  moreover,  the  offender  shall  be  liable  at  the  suit 
of  the  person  aggrieved  to  such  damages  as  he  shall  sustain  thereby. 
In  case  of  violation  of  the  provisions  of  this  act,  the  injured  party 
shall  have  the  right  to  recover  damages,  exemplary  as  well  as  actual. 

1870 

Revised  Code,  1870.  Section  2215.  The  right  of  making  private  or 
religious  marriages  legal,  valid,  and  binding  shall  apply  to  all  per 
sons  of  whatever  race  or  color  as  well  as  to  marriages  formerly  pro 
hibited  by  any  law  of  the  state. 

Section  2216.  Any  parties  who  at  any  time  previous  to  the  pas 
sage  of  this  act  lived  together  as  man  and  wife,  and  who  desire  to 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  113 

contract  a  legal  marriage,  shall  be  entitled  to  the  benefit  of  the 
provisions  of  this  law. 

Revised  Code,  1870.  Nothing  found  against  intermarriage  or  mis 
cegenation,  under  those  headings,  or  any  other  headings. 

1871 

Laws,  1871,  p.  57.  The  mode  of  trying  cases  arising  under  the  Civil 
Rights  Act  of  1869,  p.  37,  is  provided  for. 

Laws,  1871,  p.  208.  Provision  for  the  instruction  of  the  blind,  and 
for  an  industrial  home  for  the  blind  at  Baton  Rouge.  Provides  that 
"no  part  of  this  act  shall  be  construed  so  as  to  deprive  any  person  on 
account  of  race  or  color  of  the  privilege  of  admittance  to  the  insti- 


1873 

Laws,  i#7J,  p.  156.  Every  citizen  of  Louisiana  and  of  the  United 
States  residing  in  Louisiana,  shall  enjoy  equal  and  impartial  accom 
modations,  advantages,  facilities,  and  privileges  from  all  common 
carriers  on  land  and  water,  from  inn-keepers  and  from  all  public 
places  of  resort  licensed  by  the  state  or  by  any  municipal  corpora 
tion. 

If  any  inn-keeper  or  manager  of  public  resort  refuse  equal  and 
impartial  accommodations  to  any  citizen,  he  shall  forfeit  his  license 
and  thereafter  shall  not  pursue  that  calling  and  shall  be  liable  to  the 
injured  party  for  damages.  Common  carriers  are  liable  on  an  action 
for  damages  in  favor  of  the  injured  party,  and  each  carrier  shall 
forfeit  license. 

The  Attorney-General  on  complaint  shall  take  proceedings  in  the 
name  of  the  state  and  preference  shall  be  given  to  his  proceeding. 

If  any  agent  of  a  railroad  or  steamboat  company  shall  thus  dis 
criminate,  such  employee  shall  be  arrested  and  fined  or  imprisoned, 
and  shall  be  liable  for  damages  in  favor  of  the  person  so  injured. 
(See  1902  for  repeal.) 

1875 

Hall  v.  DeCuir,  97  United  States  485.  Held  Act  of  1869  against  dis 
crimination  by  railroads,  etc.,  unconstitutional,  because  it  consti 
tuted  interference  with  interstate  commerce. 


114  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

Laws,  1875,  p.  50.  Establishment  of  an  agricultural  and  mechanical 
college.  It  is  provided  there  shall  be  no  discrimination  of  race  or 
color  in  the  admission,  management,  or  discipline  of  the  institution. 

1879 

Constitution.  No  reference  is  made  either  way  as  to  separation  in 
schools.  The  provision  of  the  1868  Constitution  is  omitted. 

1880 

Laws,  1880,  p.  52.  There  shall  be  no  distinction  made  on  account  of 
race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude,  in  selecting  jurors. 

Laws,  1880,  p.  no.  Provides  for  the  establishment  of  Southern  Uni 
versity,  for  the  education  of  negroes. 

1890 

Laws,  1890,  p.  152.  (Code,  1904,  p.  1498.}  Railway  companies  shall 
provide  equal  but  separate  accommodations  for  white  and  colored 
races  by  providing  two  or  more  coaches,  or  by  partition  in  coach. 
This  Act  shall  not  apply  to  street  railroads.  No  person  shall  occupy 
any  seat  other  than  the  one  assigned. 

Section  2.  Officers  shall  assign  passengers  to  proper  seats.  Per 
sons  insisting  on  entering  wrong  place  may  be  fined  $25,  or  impris 
oned  for  not  more  than  twenty  days.  A  railroad  officer  assigning 
any  one  to  improper  place  may  be  punished  by  fine  of  $25  or  im 
prisonment  not  exceeding  twenty  days.  A  passenger  refusing  to 
occupy  the  proper  place  may  be  ejected.  No  liability  for  damages 
by  railway  company  for  so  doing  shall  be  incurred. 

Section  j.  All  officers  and  directors  of  railway  companies  that 
shall  refuse  or  neglect  to  comply  with  the  provisions  and  require 
ments  of  this  Act  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  and 
shall  upon  conviction  before  any  court  of  competent  jurisdiction 
be  fined  not  less  than  $100  nor  more  than  $500,  and  any  conductor 
or  other  employee  of  such  passenger  train  who  shall  refuse  or  neg 
lect  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  this  Act  shall  on  conviction  be 
fined  not  less  than  $25  nor  more  than  $50  for  each  offense.  All  rail 
road  companies  other  than  street  railroad  companies  shall  keep  this 
law  posted  in  a  conspicuous  place  in  each  passenger  coach  and 
ticket  office.  Nothing  herein  shall  be  construed  as  applying  to 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  115 

nurses  travelling  with  children  of  other  race,  or  officers  in  charge 
of  prisoners. 

1894 

Laws,  1894,  p.  63.  Marriage  between  white  persons  and  persons  of 
color  is  prohibited,  and  its  celebration  is  forbidden,  and  it  is  null 
and  void.  (No  special  penalty  attached.  Only  penalty  that  for 
any  marriage  within  forbidden  degrees). 

Laws,  1894,  p.  200.  Amends  separate  coach  law  of  1890,  p.  152,  by 
adding  to  Section  3  the  words,  "or  prisoners  in  charge  of  sheriffs  or 
their  deputies  or  other  officers." 

Laws,  1894,  p.  133.  (Revised  Statutes,  1904,  p.  1500.)  Upon  the  con 
struction  or  renewal  of  depots,  they  must  have  equal  but  separate 
waiting  rooms  for  the  white  and  colored  races.  No  person  shall 
occupy  the  wrong  room. 

Section  2.  The  power  to  assign  any  one  to  the  proper  place  is 
given  to  railroad  employees.  Any  person  insisting  on  entering  the 
improper  place  may  be  fined  $25  or  imprisoned  not  more  than  30 
days.  An  agent  assigning  any  one  to  improper  place  may  be  fined 
$25  or  imprisoned  not  more  than  30  days.  Upon  refusal  of  any 
person  to  occupy  an  assigned  place,  he  may  be  ejected,  with  no 
liability  for  damages. 

Section  j.  An  agent  failing  to  enforce  this  Act  is  guilty  of  a  mis 
demeanor,  punishable  by  $25  to  $50  fine.  This  law  must  be  posted  in 
a  conspicuous  place.  Nurses  attending  children  of  other  race  and 
sheriffs  having  persons  in  charge  are  made  exceptions. 

1898 

Constitution,  1898,  Article  248.  The  General  Assembly  shall  estab 
lish  free  public  schools  for  the  white  and  the  colored  races. 

1902 

Laws,  1902,  p.  89.  All  street  railways  must  provide  separate  but 
equal  accommodations,  consisting  of  two  cars,  or  else  of  wooden  or 
wire  screen  partitions. 

Section  2.  Railway  officers  must  assign  passengers  to  the  proper 
seat.  A  passenger  insisting  on  going  to  a  wrong  seat  is  liable  to  a 
fine  of  $25  or  imprisonment  of  not  more  than  thirty  days.  A  rail- 


1 1 6  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

way  officer  making  an  improper  assignment  is  liable  to  a  fine  of  $25 
or  imprisonment  for  not  more  than  thirty  days.  A  passenger  refus 
ing  to  occupy  the  proper  place  may  be  ejected,  with  no  damages 
from  the  railway  company. 

Section  j.  For  a  railway  company  refusing  to  comply  with  these 
provisions,  a  penalty  is  provided  of  a  fine  of  $100,  or  imprisonment 
for  not  less  than  sixty  days  and  not  more  than  six  months.  A  con 
ductor  not  enforcing  the  Act  is  fined  not  less  than  $25  or  imprisoned 
not  less  than  ten  days  and  not  more  than  thirty  days.  The  law 
shall  be  posted  in  a  conspicuous  place  in  cars  and  stations.  Excep 
tion  to  the  law  is  made  of  nurses  attending  children  of  the  other 
race. 

Laws,  1902,  p.  27.    Repeal  of  Civil  Rights  Act  of  1873,  p.  156. 
Laws,  1902,  p.  144,    Act  to  establish  the  "Insane  Asylum  for  Colored 
People  of  the  State  of  Louisiana." 

1904 

Laws,  1904,  p.  J5J.  A  requirement  to  keep  separate  as  far  as  prac 
ticable  males  under  eighteen  years  of  the  white  and  colored  races, 
in  the  Reform  School  (Louisiana  Training  Institute). 

1908 

Act  87,  p.  105.  Concubinage  between  the  Caucasian  or  white  race 
and  any  person  of  the  negro  or  black  race  is  a  felony.  The  punish 
ment  is  imprisonment  from  one  month  to  one  year,  with  or  without 
hard  labor. 

Section  2.  Living  together  is  proof  of  violation  of  this  act. 
Laws,  1908,  p.  239.  It  is  unlawful  for  any  person  conducting  a  bar 
room,  cabaret,  coffee-house,  cafe,  beer-saloon,  liquor  exchange, 
drinking  grog-shop,  beer-house,  beer-garden,  or  other  place  where 
spirituous,  vinous  or  malt  liquors  or  intoxicating  beverages  are  sold, 
to  permit  in  same  building  the  sale  for  consumption  on  the  premises 
of  intoxicating  liquors  to  whites  and  negroes.  Violation  is  a  misde 
meanor,  punishable  by  $50  to  $500  fine,  or  imprisonment  in  the 
parish  jail  or  the  parish  prison  not  more  than  two  years,  or  both. 

I9IO 

Laws,  1910,  p.  32.  Same  as  1908,  p.  239,  except  that  the  words  are 
used  "Persons  of  the  Caucasian  and  colored  races." 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  117 

Laws,  1910,  p.  344.  Law  of  1908,  p.  105,  as  to  concubinage  repeated, 
changing  the  word  "negro"  to  the  word  "color"  or  "colored." 

1912 

Laws,  1912,  p.  139.  Municipal  corporations  are  authorized  to  with 
hold  building  permits  for  building  negro  houses  in  white  commu 
nities,  or  any  portion  of  a  community  inhabited  principally  by  white 
people,  and  vice  versa,  except  on  the  written  consent  of  a  majority 
of  those  of  the  opposite  race  in  the  portion  to  be  effected. 

Section  2.  The  words  "white  community"  and  "negro  community" 
mean  any  subdivision  or  portion  thereof,  or  any  street,  inhabited 
principally  by  white  people,  or  vice  versa,  as  case  may  be. 

Section  j.  A  firm  or  person  violating  these  provisions,  by  build 
ing  such  a  house  without  a  permit  is  liable  to  a  fine  of  from  $50  to 
$2,000,  and  the  municipality  shall  have  the  right  to  cause  said 
building  to  be  removed  and  destroyed. 

1914 

Annotated  Revised  Statutes,  1914.  Civil  Rights  Law  of  1869,  as  Sec 
tions  922-925. 


Maine 
1819 

Constitution,  1819,  II.    Every  male  citizen  had  the  right  to  vote. 

1821 

Laws,  1821,  Vol.  I,  p.  341.  All  marriages  between  white  persons  and 
negroes,  mulattoes,  or  Indians  are  prohibited.  Any  such  marriage 
shall  be  absolutely  void. 

1847 

Revised  Statutes,  1847,  Chapter  59.  Section  j.  The  same  provision 
appears,  as  to  intermarriage.  (This  is  the  last  Revised  Statutes  in 
which  this  provision  appears.  It  is  not  contained  in  the  next  edition 
of  the  Revised  Statutes  in  1857.  It  was  not  repealed  till  as  appears 
below) . 


1 1 8  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

1883 

Laws,  1883,  p.  167.  The  law  as  to  marriage  is  amended  by  striking 
out  the  provision  as  to  marriages  of  whites  with  negroes,  etc.  Re 
peals  law  of  1821. 

Maryland 
1867 

Constitution,  1867,  Article  III.  Section  I.  (Constitution  not  changed 
since.)  "White  male  citizens"  have  the  right  to  vote. 

Constitution,  1867,  Article  III.  Section 53.  No  person  shall  be  incom 
petent  as  a  witness  unless  thereafter  so  declared  by  general  assembly. 

Chapter  423,  p.  858.  Marriages  made  in  the  state  prior  to  March  22, 
1867,  between  colored  people,  are  confirmed  and  made  valid  from 
time  of  celebration,  and  are  good  and  sufficient  in  law.  The  parties 
claiming  to  have  been  married  shall  establish  the  fact  before  some 
Justice  of  Peace,  a  certificate  of  which  shall  be  filed  with  the  clerk  of 
the  circuit  court  for  the  county  or  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of 
Baltimore  City. 

Thereafter,  colored  persons  are  to  be  married  in  the  same  manner 
and  under  same  regulations  as  white  persons. 

1870 

Laws,  1870,  Chapter  392.  Section  I.  The  House  of  Reformation  for 
colored  minors  is  provided  for  (like  the  House  of  Refuge  for  white 
minors,  with  the  same  provisions  as  in  chapter  as  to  latter). 

Laws,  1870,  p.  555-556.  All  taxes  paid  for  school  purposes  by  col 
ored  people  in  any  county  or  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  and  donations 
for  that  purpose,  shall  be  set  aside  for  maintaining  schools  for  col 
ored  children.  Further  appropriations  can  be  made  by  school  com 
missioners. 

1872 

Laws,  1872,  p.  650.  The  Board  of  County  School  Commissioners 
shall  establish  schools  for  colored  children  in  each  election  district, 
subject  to  same  laws  and  regulations  as  schools  for  white  children. 
The  taxes  of  colored  persons  shall  be  devoted  to  them  except  that  no 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  119 

colored  school  shall  be  established  in  a  district  unless  the  colored 
population  warrants. 

Laws,  1872,  Chapter  377,  p.  650.  The  Board  of  County  School  Com 
missioners  shall  establish  one  or  more  public  schools  in  each  elec 
tion  district  for  all  colored  youth  between  six  and  twenty  years  of 
age,  admission  to  be  free  provided  the  colored  population  of  such 
district  shall  warrant  in  establishing  said  schools. 
Laws,  1872,  Chapter 377.  Colored  schools  are  provided  with  support 
from  the  general  school  fund. 

Laws,  1872,  p.  134.  Admission  to  the  bar  is  limited  to  white  male 
citizens. 

Laws,  1872,  Chapter  377.  The  taxes  paid  for  school  purposes  by  the 
colored  people  of  any  county  shall  be  used  for  schools  for  colored 
children. 

1874 

Laws,  1874,  Chapter  463,  p.  690.  Colored  schools  shall  be  under  the 
direction  of  a  special  Board  of  School  Trustees,  subject  to  the  same 
laws  for  their  government,  and  furnished  with  instruction  in  the 
same  branches,  as  schools  for  white  children. 

1876 

Laws,  1876,  p.  469.    Admission  to  the  bar  is  limited  to  white  male 

citizens. 

1882 

Laws,  1882,  Chapter  291.    Section  I.    An  industrial  home  for  colored 

girls  is  authorized. 

1884 

Laws,  1884,  Chapter  264.  All  marriages  between  white  persons  and 
negroes  or  white  persons  and  persons  of  negro  descent  to  third  gen 
eration  inclusive,  are  forever  prohibited,  and  void.  Such  person  is 
guilty  of  infamous  crime  and  subject  to  a  penalty  of  imprisonment 
in  the  penitentiary  for  not  less  than  eighteen  months  nor  more  than 
ten  years. 

Any  minister  or  other  person  joining  in  marriage  any  negro  with 
any  white  person  shall  be  fined  $100.  (See  Code,  1860,  p.  236  and 
p.  241,  and  Laws,  1715,  Chapter  44,  Section  25.) 


I2O  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

1894 

Laws,  1894,  p.  Q3p,  Chapter  187.  Section  3 2 9 A.  The  House  of  the 
Good  Shepherd  for  colored  girls  of  the  city  of  Baltimore  is  provided  for. 
A  refuge  for  colored  females  wishing  to  abandon  vicious  courses  and 
reform.  It  is  vested  with  same  powers  and  duties  as  by  law  for  white 
females  and  the  House  of  the  Good  Shepherd  of  the  city  of  Baltimore. 
All  courts  and  Justices  of  Peace  can  commit  colored  females  in 
the  same  way  as  white  females  to  the  latter  institution. 


I 

Laws,  1898,  p.  815.  The  Board  of  County  School  Commissioners, 
wherever  suitable  accommodations  are  provided  by  the  County, 
shall  provide  for  the  maintenance  of  separate  colored  industrial 
schools  if  in  their  judgment  needed,  the  salaries  to  be  paid  out  of 
the  general  fund. 

1904 

Laws,  1904,  p.  240.  In  1904  Maryland  laws,  race  qualifications  are 
omitted  for  admission  to  the  bar.  (See  1914.) 

Laws,  1904,  p.  1 86,  Chapter  109.  Section  I.  All  railroad  companies 
are  required  to  provide  separate  cars  or  coaches  for  white  and  col 
ored  passengers;  a  compartment  with  a  "good  and  substantial  par 
tition  with  a  door  or  place  of  exit  from  each  division"  is  compliance. 
They  must  have  words  in  plain  letters  in  a  conspicuous  place  indi 
cating  whether  for  white  or  colored  passengers. 

Section  2.  There  must  be  no  difference  or  discrimination  in  qual 
ity  of  convenience  or  accommodation. 

Section  j.  Any  railroad  company  or  person  failing  to  comply 
with  this  act  may  be  fined  not  less  than  $300  nor  more  than  $1,000 
for  each  offense. 

Section  4.  Conductors  shall  assign  to  each  white  or  colored  pas 
senger  his  place  and  may  eject  a  passenger  refusing  to  occupy  the 
place  assigned,  neither  railroad  company  or  conductor  being  liable 
in  damages.  The  passenger  refusing  to  occupy  the  assigned  place 
is  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  and  fined  not  less  than  $5  nor  more 
than  $50,  or  imprisoned  in  the  jail  not  less  than  thirty  days,  or  both. 

Section  5.  Any  conductor  who  shall  fail  to  perform  the  duties 
in  Section  4  is  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  and  fined  not  less  than  $25 
nor  more  than  $50. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  121 

Section  6.  When  either  section  is  completely  filled,  and  this  could 
not  be  foreseen,  and  no  extra  cars  can  be  obtained,  the  conductor 
may  assign  passengers  of  one  color  to  the  place  for  the  other. 

Section  7.  These  provisions  shall  not  apply  to  employees  of 
railroads  or  persons  employed  as  nurses  or  officers  in  charge  of  prison 
ers,  whether  white  or  colored  or  both,  or  to  prisoners  in  their  cus 
tody,  nor  to  transportation  of  passengers  in  a  caboose  car  attached 
to  a  freight  train,  nor  to  parlor  nor  sleeping  cars,  nor  through  express 
trains  that  do  no  local  business. 

Laws,  1904,  Chapter  no.  Section  I.  Officers  of  steamboats  shall 
assign  white  and  colored  passengers  to  the  respective  locations  they 
are  to  occupy.  They  must  separate  as  far  as  the  construction  of 
boat  and  due  consideration  for  comfort  of  passengers  will  permit, 
white  and  colored  passengers  in  sitting,  sleeping,  and  eating  apart 
ments.  No  discrimination  shall  be  made  in  quality  and  convenience 
of  accommodations  in  the  respective  locations.  Exceptions  to  the 
Act  are  made  of  nurses  or  attendants  traveling  with  employers, 
officers  in  charge  of  prisoners,  white  or  colored,  or  both,  and  to 
prisoners  in  their  custody. 

Section  2.  An  officer  in  command  of  any  boat  refusing  to  enforce 
this  Act,  is  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  fined  not  less  than  $25  nor 
more  than  $50. 

Section  j.  A  passenger  refusing  to  occupy  the  location  assigned, 
whether  of  sitting,  sleeping,  or  eating,  is  guilty  of  misdemeanor,  and 
may  be  fined  not  less  than  $5  nor  more  than  $50,  or  imprisoned  in 
jail  not  less  than  thirty  days.  He  may  be  ejected  from  the  boat. 
Necessary  assistance  to  do  this  may  be  secured.  No  liability  for 
damages  by  the  steamboat  company  or  officers  shall  be  incurred. 

1908 

Laws,  1908,  Chapter  248.  Conductors  or  managers  of  railway  com 
panies  operating  cars  by  electricity,  running  twenty  miles  beyond 
the  limits  of  any  incorporated  city  or  town  of  the  state  for  transpor 
tation  of  passengers,  are  required  to  designate  separate  seats  for 
white  and  colored  passengers.  They  shall  make  no  discrimination  in 
quality  of  or  convenience  in  seats.  No  white  person  shall  force 
himself  into  a  seat  designated  for  a  colored  person  (and  vice  versa). 
If  a  passenger  refuses  to  occupy  an  assigned  seat,  the  conductor  may 


122  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

refuse  to  carry,  and  may  put  off,  such  passengers.  He  shall  not  be 
liable  therefor  in  damages.  Such  passenger  is  guilty  of  a  misde 
meanor,  and  may  be  fined  not  more  than  $50,  or  imprisoned  in  jail 
thirty  days,  or  both.  A  conductor  refusing  to  enforce  the  act  is 
guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  may  be  fined  not  more  than  $20. 
When  the  seats  are  all  occupied  but  are  not  all  filled,  and  an  in 
creased  number  of  passengers  cannot  be  accommodated  with  sepa 
rate  seats,  the  conductor  is  authorized  to  assign  passengers  of  the 
same  color  to  vacant  seats,  and  with  permission  of  the  occupant 
can  assign  a  passenger  of  another  color  to  the  unoccupied  seats,  but 
not  otherwise.  The  act  shall  not  apply  to  nurses  or  valets  accom 
panying  those  needing  their  attention. 

Laws,  1908,  Chapter  292.  The  provision  that  "Each  compartment 
of  a  car  divided  by  a  good  substantial  partition,  with  a  door  or  place 
of  exit  from  each  division,  shall  be  deemed  a  separate  car,"  shall  not 
be  applied  to  counties  of  Prince  George's,  Charles,  St.  Mary's,  Cal- 
vert,  and  Anne  Arundel,  so  that  in  said  counties  there  shall  be  sep 
arate  cars  or  coaches.  But  a  combination  car,  not  over  one-third 
of  which  is  used  for  baggage  or  mail,  for  the  purposes  of  this  section 
shall  be  deemed  a  separate  car.  Each  separate  car  shall  have  in  a 
conspicuous  place,  both  inside  and  outside,  words  and  letters  indi 
cating  whether  set  apart  for  white  or  colored  passengers.  This 
section  shall  not  apply  to  trains  making  no  scheduled  intermediate 
service  stops  between  their  termini. 

Laws,  1908,  Chapter  617.  Steamboats  on  Chesapeake  Bay,  between 
the  City  of  Baltimore  and  points  on  the  Bay  and  its  tributaries, 
shall  provide  separate  toilet  or  retiring  rooms,  and  separate  sleeping 
cabins,  on  or  before  July  I,  1908,  for  white  and  colored  passengers, 
under  penalty  of  $50  for  each  day's  violation. 

Laws  1908,  Chapter  599.  A  State  Normal  School  for  instruction  and 
practice  of  colored  teachers  is  authorized,  under  the  control  of  the 
State  Board  of  Education.  It  shall  include  courses  for  preparation 
for  teaching  elements  of  agricultural  and  mechanical  arts,  etc. 

IQIO 

Laws,  1910,  p.  232.  The  Colored  Industrial  School  law  of  1848  is 
amplified  and  made  more  specific. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  123 

Laws,  1910,  p.  2j8.    Establishes  a  "hospital  for  the  negro  insane  of 
Maryland, "for  the  detention  and  care  of  the  negro  insane  of  the  state. 

1914 

Chapter  655,  p.  1108.  All  persons  possessing  the  necessary  qualifica 
tions  shall  be  eligible  to  take  examinations  for  admission  to  the  bar. 


Massachusetts 

1705 

Laws,  1705,  Chapter  6.  An  Act  for  the  better  preventing  of  spurious 
and  mixed  issue.  A  negro  or  "molatto"  man  committing  fornication 
with  "an  English  woman  or  a  woman  of  any  other  Christian  nation," 
shall  be  sold  out  of  the  province.  An  "English  man,  or  man  of  any 
other  Christian  nation,"  committing  fornication  with  a  negro  or 
molatto  woman,  shall  be  whipped,  and  the  woman  sold  out  of  the 
province. 

None  of  Her  Majesty's  English  or  Scottish  subjects  nor  of  any 
other  Christian  nation  within  this  province  "shall  contract  matri 
mony  with  any  negro  or  molatto"  under  a  penalty  imposed  on  the 
person  joining  them  in  marriage. 

1784 

Laws,  1784,  p.  72.  Section  10.  Whoever  confines  or  imprisons 
without  lawful  authority  another  person  against  his  will,  or  kid 
naps  another  person,  and  whoever  sells  or  in  any  manner  transfers 
for  any  term  the  service  or  labor  of  a  negro,  mulatto,  or  other  per 
son  of  color,  who  has  been  unlawfully  seized  or  kidnapped  from 
here  to  any  other  state  or  place,  shall  be  punished  by  imprisonment 
of  not  more  than  ten  years,  or  a  fine  of  not  more  than  $1,000  and 
imprisonment  in  jail  of  not  more  than  two  years.  Whoever  com 
mits  any  offense  described  in  this  section  to  extort  money  or  other 
valuable  thing,  shall  be  punished  by  an  imprisonment  in  the  State 
Prison  not  more  than  twenty-five  years.  (1902  Revised  Laws, 
Chapter  207,  Section  26.) 

1786 

Laws,  1786,  Chapter  j.    Section  7.    No  person  authorized  to  marry 

shall  join  in  marriage  any  white  person  with  any  negro,  Indian,  or 


124  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

mulatto,  under  the  penalty  of  £50;  and  all  such  marriages  shall  be 
absolutely  null  and  void. 

1788 

Laws,  1788,  Chapter  2,  March  26.  No  African  or  negro  other  than 
a  citizen  of  one  of  the  States  shall  tarry  in  the  Commonwealth 
more  than  two  months,  or  he  may  be  ordered  to  depart,  and  if  he 
does  not  depart  he  may  be  subject  to  penalty. 

1834 

Laws,  1834,  Chapter  777.    An  act  for  the  orderly  solemnization  of 

marriage,  repealing  former  acts,  but  excepting  Section  7  of  Act  of 

1786. 

1843 

Laws,  1843,  Chapter  5.  An  act  relating  to  marriages  between  indi 
viduals  of  certain  races.  This  act  repeals  the  provisions  against  the 
intermarriage  of  whites,  negroes,  etc. 

1855 

Acts,  i  #55,  p.  674,  Chapter  256.  (School  Act.)  No  distinction  shall 
be  made  on  account  of  race,  color,  or  religious  opinions  of  the  appli 
cant  or  scholar. 

Section  2.  Any  child  who  on  account  of  his  race,  color,  or  relig 
ious  opinions  is  excluded  from  any  public  or  district  school  may 
recover  damages  in  an  action  of  tort. 

Section  4.  Every  person  belonging  to  a  school  committee  under 
whose  rules  any  child  shall  be  excluded,  and  the  teacher  of  any  such 
school,  shall,  on  application  by  the  parent  or  guardian,  state  in 
writing  the  grounds  and  reasons  of  such  exclusion. 

1865 

Acts,  1865,  p.  650.  No  distinction,  discrimination,  or  restriction  on 
account  of  color  or  race  shall  be  lawful  in  any  licensed  inn,  in  any 
public  place  of  amusement,  public  conveyance,  or  public  meeting. 
Penalty,  a  fine  not  exceeding  $50. 

1866 

Acts,  1866,  p.  242.  It  is  not  lawful  to  exclude  persons  from  or  restrict 
them  in  any  theater  or  public  place  of  amusement,  licensed  under  the 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  125 

laws  of  the  Commonwealth,  or  in  any  public  conveyance  or  public 
meeting,  or  licensed  inn,  except  for  good  cause.  Penalty,  a  fine  not 
exceeding  $50. 

1884 

Laws,  1884,  p.  194.  No  life  insurance  company  shall  make  any  dis 
tinction  between  white  and  colored  persons  wholly  or  partially  of 
African  descent,  as  to  premiums  or  rates,  or  as  to  amount  to  be 
paid  in  case  of  death,  nor  insert  in  the  policy  any  condition  as  to 
accepting  less  than  full  value  of  the  policy,  other  than  such  as  are 
imposed  upon  white  persons  in  similar  cases. 

Any  such  company  which  shall  refuse  an  application  of  a  colored 
person  for  insurance  upon  his  life,  shall  furnish,  on  request,  the 
certificate  of  the  doctor  of  the  company  stating  that  the  refusal  is 
not  on  account  of  color  but  solely  upon  such  grounds  of  general 
health  and  prospect  of  longevity  as  would  be  applicable  to  white 
persons  of  the  same  age  and  sex. 

Any  corporation  or  officer  or  agent  violating  the  provisions  of  this 
Act,  shall  forfeit  not  to  exceed  $100. 

1885 

Acts,  1885,  p.  774-  There  shall  be  no  distinction  or  discrimination 
on  account  of  color  or  race,  or  except  for  good  cause,  in  admission 
to  or  treatment  in  any  theater,  skating-rink,  or  other  public  place 
of  amusement,  whether  licensed  or  not,  or  public  conveyance, 
public  meeting  or  inn,  whether  licensed  or  not.  Penalty,  a  fine  not 
exceeding  $100. 

1887 

Acts,  1887,  p.  815.     Section  69.     Same  as  insurance  act  of  1884, 

p.  194,  but  Section  3  (penalty)  omitted. 

1893 

Acts,  1893,  p.  1320.    Added  after  inn  in  1885  Acts,  p.  774,  "barber's 

shop  or  other  public  place  kept  for  hire,  gain,  or  reward." 

1894 

Acts,  1894,  p.  825.  A  resolution  deprecating  the  action  of  the  Na 
tional  League  of  American  Wheelmen  in  voting  to  exclude  colored 
persons  from  membership. 


126  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

Acts,  1894,  p.  609.  Section  n.  No  person  shall  be  excluded  from  a 
public  school  on  account  of  race,  color,  or  the  religious  opinions  of 
the  applicant  or  scholar. 

1895 

Acts,  1895,  p.  519.  Whoever  makes  any  distinction,  discrimination, 
or  restriction  on  account  of  color  or  race,  or  except  for  good  cause, 
applicable  alike  to  all  persons  of  every  color  and  race,  relative  to 
the  admission  of  any  person  to  or  his  treatment  in,  a  theater, 
skating-rink,  or  other  place  of  amusement,  licensed  or  unlicensed, 
or  in  a  public  conveyance  or  public  meeting,  or  in  an  inn,  barber 
shop,  or  other  public  place  kept  for  hire,  gain,  or  reward,  licensed 
or  unlicensed,  or  whoever  aids  or  incites  such  a  distinction,  shall  for 
each  offense  be  punished  by  a  fine  of  not  more  than  $300  or  impris 
onment  for  not  more  than  one  year,  or  both,  and  shall  forfeit  to 
any  person  aggrieved  thereby  not  less  than  $25  nor  more  than  $300, 
but  such  person  so  aggrieved  shall  not  recover  against  more  than 
one  person  by  reason  of  one  act. 

1896 

Acts,  1896,  p.  659.  A  resolution  expressing  reprobation  of  hotels  in 
Boston  for  excluding  a  colored  bishop,  the  senior  bishop  of  the 
American  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 


Michigan 
1838 

Revised  Statutes,  1838,  p.  334.  No  white  person  shall  intermarry 
with  a  negro  or  mulatto. 

1850 

Constitution,  1850,  Article  VII.  Section  I.  White  males  only  have 
the  franchise. 

1871 

Laws,  1871,  p.  274.  No  separate  school  or  department  shall  be  kept 
for  any  persons  on  account  of  race  or  color.  Provided,  That  this 
shall  not  be  construed  to  prevent  the  grading  of  schools  according 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  127 

to  the  intellectual  progress  of  the  pupil.  (HowelFs  Statutes,  1913, 
Section  9904.) 

1883 

Laws,  1883,  p.  16.  All  marriages  heretofore  contracted  between 
white  persons  and  those  wholly  or  partly  African  of  descent,  are 
hereby  declared  valid  and  effectual  in  law  for  all  purposes,  and  the 
issue  of  such  marriages  shall  be  deemed  and  taken  as  legitimate  as  to 
such  issue  and  as  to  both  of  the  parents. 

1885 

Laws,  1885,  p.  131.  All  persons  are  entitled  to  the  full  and  equal 
accommodations  of  inns,  restaurants,  eating-houses,  barber  shops, 
public  conveyances  on  land  and  water,  theaters,  and  all  other  places 
of  public  accommodation  and  amusement,  subject  only  to  the  con 
ditions  and  limitation  established  by  law  and  applicable  alike  to 
all  citizens. 

Denying  the  full  accommodation  or  aiding  or  inciting  such  denial 
is  a  misdemeanor  punished  by  a  fine  not  to  exceed  $100,  or  imprison 
ment  for  not  more  than  thirty  days,  or  both. 

No  citizen  possessing  all  other  qualifications  shall  be  disqualified 
to  serve  as  grand  or  petit  juror  in  any  court  of  the  State  on  account 
of  race  or  color.  Any  officer  excluding  or  failing  to  summon  any 
citizen  for  such  cause,  is  guilty  of  misdemeanor  and  shall  be  fined 
not  more  than  $100  or  imprisoned  not  more  than  thirty  days,  or 
both. 

1893 

Laws,  1893,  p.  60.  No  life  insurance  company  shall  make  discrimi 
nation  between  white  and  colored  persons,  wholly  or  partially  of 
African  descent,  as  to  premiums  charged,  nor  make  any  rebate  or 
diminution  upon  the  amount  paid  in  case  of  death,  nor  insert  any 
condition  in  a  policy  for  any  less  sum  than  full  value.  There  shall 
be  a  forfeit  to  the  State  of  $500  for  each  violation,  to  be  covered  by 
the  attorney-general.  Any  officer  or  agent  violating  the  law  is 
guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  shall  be  punished  by  confinement  in 
the  county  jail  not  exceeding  one  year,  or  by  fine  not  less  than 
$50  and  not  exceeding  $500,  or  both. 


128  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

1899 

Laws,  1899,  p.  387.     Marriage  law  of  1883,  p.  16,  repeated. 

1901 

Laws,  ipoi,  p.  293.  The  Michigan  National  Guard  shall  be  com 
posed  of  not  less  than  forty  companies  of  infantry.  Provided,  That 
if  more  than  forty  companies  are  organized,  at  least  one  shall  be 
composed  of  colored  men. 

1905 

Laws,  1905,  p.  158.  The  Michigan  National  Guard  shall  be  com 
posed  or  not  less  than  thirty-six  companies  of  infantry,  and  not 
more  than  thirty-six  companies  shall  be  organized  and  maintained 
as  part  of  the  Michigan  National  Guard  until  after  there  be  organ 
ized  one  troop  of  cavalry,  one  battery  of  light  artillery,  one  signal 
corps,  and  one  company  of  engineers.  (No  mention  of  colored 
regiment.) 


Minnesota 

1857 

Constitution,  1857,  Article  VII.    Section  I.    White  males  only  given 

franchise. 

1865 

Laws,  1865,  p.  118.    A  Constitutional  amendment  submitted  giving 
negroes  the  suffrage.    Defeated  by  a  vote  of  the  State. 


General  Laws,  1877,  p.  141.  (Chapter  74,  Chapter  6,  Section  /).  If 
children  are  denied  admission  to  public  schools,  or  suspended  or 
expelled  on  account  of  color,  social  position,  or  nationality,  the 
board  shall  forfeit  $50  for  each  offense;  and  nothing  in  this  act  or 
any  amendment  to  it  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  authorize  classi 
fying  scholars  with  reference  to  color,  or  to  set  them  apart  into  sepa 
rate  schools  without  their  consent  and  the  consent  of  the  parents 
or  guardians  of  such  children.  Any  district  offending  shall  lose  the 
benefit  of  the  public  school  funds. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  129 

1885 

Laws,  1885,  p.  296.  All  persons  shall  be  entitled  to  the  full  and 
equal  enjoyment  of  the  accommodations,  advantages,  facilities,  and 
privileges  of  inns,  public  conveyances  on  land  and  water,  theaters, 
and  places  of  public  amusement,  restaurants,  and  barber  shops, 
subject  only  to  the  conditions  and  limitations  applicable  alike  to  all 
citizens  of  every  race  and  color  regardless  of  any  previous  condition 
of  servitude.  Penalty  for  violation,  a  fine  from  $100  to  $500,  or 
imprisonment  from  thirty  days  to  one  year. 

1897 

Laws,  1897,  p.  616.  (Civil  Rights  Law.)  Prohibits  excluding  from 
"accommodations  furnished  by  innkeepers,  hotel  keepers,  managers 
or  lessees,  common  carriers,  or  by  owners,  managers  or  lessees  of 
theaters  or  other  places  of  amusement,  or  public  conveyances  on 
land  or  water,  restaurants,  barber  shops,  eating  houses,  or  other 
places  of  public  resort,  refreshment,  accommodation,  or  enter 
tainment." 

Denying  the  enjoyment  unlawfully  of  any  hotel,  inn,  tavern, 
restaurant,  eating  house,  soda-water  fountain,  ice-cream  parlor, 
public  conveyance  on  land  or  water,  theater,  barber  shop,  or  other 
place  of  public  refreshment,  amusement,  instruction,  accommo 
dation,  or  entertainment  is  a  misdemeanor  with  penalty  of  a  fine 
from  $25  to  $100,  or  confinement  in  a  county  jail  from  thirty  to 
ninety  days.  Damages  of  from  $25  to  $500  are  provided  for  the 
injured  party. 

1899 

Laws,  1899,  p.  38.  No  person  shall  be  excluded  on  account  of  race 
or  color  from  full  enjoyment  of  any  accommodation  furnished  by 
public  conveyances,  theaters,  or  other  public  places  of  amusement, 
or  by  hotels,  barber  shops,  saloons,  restaurants,  or  other  places  of 
refreshment,  entertainment,  or  accommodation.  Violation  of  this 
act  or  inciting  thereto  is  a  gross  misdemeanor,  and  in  addition  to  the 
penalty  therefor,  the  offender  is  made  liable  to  the  person  aggrieved 
for  damages  not  exceeding  $500. 


130  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

1905 

Revised  Laws,  1905,  Section  1402.  Separate  school  provision  of  1877, 
General  Laws,  p.  141,  repeated,  in  substance,  with  provision  as  to 
consent  omitted. 

Revised  Laws,  1905.  Section  1403.  A  school  district  shall  not 
classify  its  pupils  with  reference  to  race  or  color,  nor  separate  them 
into  different  schools  or  departments  for  these  reasons.  Punishment 
is  forfeiture  by  a  district  of  its  share  of  the  public  school  fund  so 
long  as  such  classification  or  separation  continues.  (General  Statutes, 
1913,  Section  2901.) 


Mississippi 
1865 

Laws,  1865,  p.  82.  Negroes  may  intermarry  with  each  other  under 
the  same  regulations  as  for  white  persons.  All  who  have  been  and 
are  cohabiting  are  held  in  law  as  married  and  the  children  as 
legitimate. 

Laws,  1865,  p.  82.  Sectionj.  It  is  not  lawful  for  any  freedman,  free 
negro,  or  mulatto  to  intermarry  with  any  white  person  (or  vice  versa). 
It  is  a  felony.  The  penalty  is  imprisonment  in  the  state  peniten 
tiary  for  life.  Those  shall  be  deemed  freedmen,  free  negroes,  or 
mulattoes  who  are  of  pure  negro  blood,  and  those  descended  from 
a  negro  to  the  third  generation,  though  one  ancestor  of  each  gener 
ation  may  have  been  a  white  person.  (See  Revised  Code,  1857,  p. 
311.  Digest  Laws,  1839,  P-  560.) 

Laws,  1865,  p.  92.  There  is  the  same  liability  for  negroes  to  support 
their  indigents  as  for  white  persons  theirs.  A  tax  of  $i  is  placed 
upon  every  freedman,  free  negro,  or  mulatto  between  eighteen  and 
sixty  years  of  age,  for  the  Freedman's  Pauper  Fund.  If  they  refuse 
to  pay  tax,  they  may  be  arrested  and  hired  out  till  the  amount  is 
worked  out. 

Laws,  1865,  p.  2ji.  (General  Act  in  Relation  to  Railroads.)  Sec 
tion  6.  It  is  unlawful  for  any  officer  or  employee  on  any  railroad  to 
allow  any  freedman,  negro,  or  mulatto  to  ride  in  any  first-class 
passenger  cars,  set  apart,  or  used  by  and  for  white  persons.  Offend 
ing  is  a  misdemeanor  punished  by  a  fine  from  $50  to  $500;  and 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  131 

imprisonment  in  county  jail  until  fine  and  costs  of  prosecution  are 
paid.  Provided  this  section  is  not  to  apply  in  case  of  negroes  or 
mulattoes  travelling  with  their  mistresses  in  the  capacity  of  nurses. 
Section  8.  Half  of  the  fines  collected  under  the  Act  shall  be  paid 
to  the  informer,  the  other  half  into  the  treasury  of  the  county  where 
the  offense  was  committed. 

1867 

Laws,  1866—1867,  p.  232.  Negroes  are  given  the  right  to  testify  on 
the  same  terms  as  white  persons. 

Laws,  1866-1867,  p.  233.  Negroes  are  not  competent  to  serve  as 
petit  or  grand  jurors. 

1868 

Constitution,  1868,  Article  VII,  Section  2.  Removed  the  limita 
tion  of  suffrage  to  white  persons  only. 

Constitution,  1868,  Article  I.  Section  24.  The  rights  of  all  citizens 
to  travel  upon  all  public  conveyances  shall  not  be  infringed  upon 
nor  in  any  manner  abridged  in  this  State. 

1871 

Revised  Code,  Mississippi.  No  miscegenation  or  intermarriage  stat 
ute.  Omitted. 

Revised  Code,  1871.  Section  1993.  All  children  from  five  to  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  shall  have  in  all  respects  equal  advantages  in  public 
schools.  (Only  provision  in  the  law.) 

1872 

66  Tennessee,  p.  State  v.  J.  P.  Bell.  Case  of  a  white  man  married  to 
a  woman  of  color  in  the  state  of  Mississippi  ("where  such  marriages 
are  not  forbidden  by  law")  who  removed  to  Tennessee  with  his  wife. 
Held  an  indictable  offense  in  Tennessee  for  a  white  man  and  colored 
woman  to  live  together  as  man  and  wife,  although  married  accord 
ing  to  the  forms  of  law  in  Mississippi. 

Laws,  1872,  p.  8^.  There  shall  be  no  distinction  on  account  of  race 
or  color  or  previous  condition  in  working  convicts. 


132  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

1873 

Laws,  1873,  p.  66.  All  citizens  of  the  State  without  distinction  of 
race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude,  are  entitled  to  equal 
and  impartial  enjoyment  of  any  accommodation,  advantage,  or 
privilege  furnished  by  common  carriers,  whether  upon  land  or  upon 
water,  by  any  keeper  or  lessee  of  any  hotel,  inn,  or  restaurant,  by 
any  owner  or  manager  of  any  theater  or  other  place  of  public 
amusement  or  of  public  entertainment  or  accommodation,  and  the 
equal  and  impartial  enjoyment  of  such  accommodation  shall  for 
ever  remain  a  right  inherent  in  every  person,  which  right  shall  not 
be  abridged  or  denied  on  account  of  any  distinction  of  race,  color, 
or  previous  condition  of  servitude. 

Any  person  violating  or  abridging  these  rights  is  guilty  of  a  mis 
demeanor,  and  shall  pay  to  the  person  aggrieved  not  less  than  $300, 
with  full  costs  and  allowance  for  counsel's  fees,  and  shall  be  fined 
not  less  than  $100,  or  imprisoned  not  less  than  thirty  days  or  more 
than  one  year,  or  both.  Any  corporation,  association,  or  individual 
violating  the  same  shall  forfeit  charter  or  license.  Continuing  to 
operate  without  a  charter  or  license  is  a  misdemeanor,  punishable  by 
a  fine  of  not  less  than  $1,000  and  not  more  than  $5,000,  and  impris 
onment  of  not  less  than  three  nor  more  than  seven  years  for  each 
offense.  The  corporate  and  joint  property  of  such  corporation, 
association,  or  individual  shall  be  liable  for  the  forfeitures,  fines,  and 
penalties  incurred. 

The  burden  of  proof  is  upon  the  defendant  to  show  the  refusal 
was  not  on  account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude. 
Judges  of  circuit  courts  shall  give  this  Act  specially  in  charge  to  the 
grand  jury.  District  attorneys  shall  prosecute  such  cases.  Any 
district  attorney  refusing  is  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  in  office,  pun 
ishable  by  $500  to  $1,000  fine  and  may  also  be  dismissed  from  office. 

1878 

Laws,  1878,  p.  103.  It  is  prohibited  to  teach  white  and  colored 
children  in  the  same  schoolhouse. 

Laws,  1878,  p.  IIQ.  Section  I.  The  Alcorn  Agricultural  and  Mechani 
cal  College  of  Mississippi  is  authorized,  for  education  of  colored 
youth  of  the  State.  Provisions  same  in  substance  as  those  for 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  133 

Mississippi  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  (white),  one-half 
of  interest  on  State  fund  going  to  each  institution. 

1880 

Revised  Code,  1880.  Section  1147.  Marriage  is  unlawful  between 
white  persons  and  negroes  or  mulattoes  or  persons  of  one-quarter  or 
more  negro  blood,  and  is  incestuous  and  void. 

The  punishment  is  the  same  as  for  marriage  within  prohibited 
degrees,  namely,  a  fine  up  to  $500,  or  imprisonment  in  the  peniten 
tiary  up  to  ten  years,  or  both.  (Reinsertion  of  law  omitted  in  1871. 
Not  found  in  Session  Laws,  1873-1890.) 

1888 

Laws,  1888,  p.  45.  Section  2.  (General  Act  as  to  Railroad  Com 
mission,  etc.)  The  Board  is  authorized  to  designate  and  provide, 
"if  deemed  proper,  separate  rooms  for  the  sexes  and  the  races,"  in 
any  new  depot  building. 

Section  j.  Every  conductor  of  trains  carrying  passengers  is 
authorized  to  assign  passengers  to  any  car,  or  to  seats  in  a  particular 
part  of  any  car  on  his  train,  provided  that  equal  accommodations 
are  given  to  passengers  holding  tickets  of  same  class,  and  any 
forcible  resistance  to  such  assignment  is  deemed  a  breach  of  the 
peace. 

Laws,  1888,  p.  48.  All  railroads  carrying  passengers  (other  than 
street  railways)  shall  provide  equal  but  separate  accommodation 
for  the  white  and  colored  races,  by  providing  two  or  more  passenger 
cars  for  each  passenger  train,  or  by  dividing  the  passenger  cars  by 
a  partition  so  as  to  secure  separate  accommodations. 

Section  2.  Conductors  of  passenger  trains  are  required  to  assign 
each  passenger  to  the  car  or  compartment  of  car  (when  divided  by 
a  partition)  used  for  the  race  to  which  the  passenger  belongs.  A 
passenger  refusing  to  occupy  car  assigned  may  be  refused  transpor 
tation,  and  the  company  shall  not  be  liable  for  damages. 

Section  j.  Railroad  companies  neglecting  within  sixty  days  after 
approval  of  act  to  comply  with  this  law  are  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor, 
and  may  be  fined  not  more  than  $500.  A  conductor  failing  to 
enforce  the  law  may  be  fined  from  $25  to  $50  for  each  offense. 


134  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

1890 

Constitution,  1890,  Article   VIII.     Section  207.     Separate  schools 
shall  be  maintained  for  children  of  the  white  and  colored  races. 
Constitution,  1890,  Article  XIV.     Section  263.     The  marriage  of  a 
white  person  with  a  negro  or  mulatto  or  person  who  shall  have  one- 
eighth  or  more  of  negro  blood  shall  be  null  and  void. 
Laws,  1890,  p.  58.    A  lunatic  asylum  is  established,  with  an  annex 
for  colored  patients.    The  white  and  colored  races  shall  be  kept 
separate. 

1896 

Laws,  1896,  p.  115.  Separate  districts  shall  be  made  for  the  schools 
of  the  white  and  colored  races,  and  the  districts  for  each  race  shall 
embrace  the  whole  territory  of  the  county  outside  the  separate 
school  districts. 

1904 

Laws,  1904,  p.  140.  All  street  railways  carrying  passengers  shall 
provide  equal  but  separate  accommodations  for  the  white  and 
colored  races  by  providing  two  or  more  cars  or  by  dividing  their  cars 
by  a  partition  or  by  adjustable  screens  which  may  be  made  movable 
so  as  to  allow  adjustment  of  space  in  the  car  suited  to  the  require 
ments  of  traffic,  so  as  to  secure  separate  accommodations  for  white 
and  colored  races.  No  persons  are  permitted  to  occupy  seats  in  a 
car  or  compartment  other  than  those  assigned  to  them  on  account 
of  the  race  to  which  they  belong. 

Section  2.  Employees  on  street  cars  are  required  to  assign  pas 
sengers  to  their  places.  A  passenger  insisting  on  occupying  a  wrong 
place  is  liable  to  a  fine  of  $25  or  confinement  not  more  than  thirty 
days  in  county  jail.  An  employee  insisting  on  assigning  passenger  to 
compartment  other  than  proper  one,  is  liable  to  a  fine  of  $25  or  con 
finement  not  more  than  thirty  days  in  the  county  jail.  If  a  passenger 
refuse  to  occupy  proper  place,  the  company  may  refuse  to  carry 
him,  and  no  damages  against  either  employee  or  railway  company 
may  be  collected. 

Section  j.  A  street  railway  not  complying  with  these  provisions 
is  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  the  penalty  being  a  fine  of  not  less  than 
$100,  or  imprisonment  not  less  than  sixty  days  and  not  more  than 
six  months.  Employees  not  carrying  out  the  provisions  of  this  act 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  135 

may  be  fined  not  less  than  $25,  or  imprisoned  not  more  than  thirty 
days.  Street  railways  shall  keep  the  law  posted  in  a  conspicuous 
place  in  each  car  and  at  transfer  stations. 

An  exception  is  made  of  nurses  attending  children  of  the  other 
race. 

1906 

Code,  I  pod.  Section  1351.  A  railroad  failing  to  provide  two  pas 
senger  cars,  or  a  partition,  for  separate  accommodation  for  the  white 
and  colored  races;  or  a  conductor  failing  to  assign  a  passenger  to 
his  proper  place,  is  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor.  Fine  $20  to  $500. 

Code,  1906.  Section  4866.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  railroad  commission 
to  require  comfortable  and  suitable  waiting-rooms  for  passengers, 
separate  for  the  races. 

Code,  1906.  Section  4855.  In  cities  of  3,000  or  more  inhabitants, 
the  commission  shall  cause  to  be  maintained  in  connection  with  the 
reception-room  for  whites,  two  closets  or  retiring-rooms  with  notice 
painted  on  doors,  "Closet,  white,  females  only,"  "Closet,  white, 
males  only."  Likewise  closets  shall  be  provided  for  negroes  with 
like  signs  painted  on  the  doors,  substituting  "colored"  for  "white." 

Code,  1906.  Section  3244.  The  marriage  of  a  white  person  with  a 
negro  or  mulatto  or  a  person  with  one-eighth  or  more  of  negro  blood, 
or  with  a  Mongolian  or  person  with  one-eighth  or  more  of  Mongolian 
blood,  is  unlawful  and  void. 

Code,  1906.  Section  1031.  Persons  being  within  the  degrees  within 
which  marriages  are  declared  by  law  to  be  incestuous  and  void, 
cohabiting,  or  committing  adultery,  etc.,  are  liable  to  a  penalty  of 
imprisonment  not  exceeding  ten  years. 

Code,  1906.  Section  3625.  In  the  penitentiary,  white  convicts  shall 
have  separate  apartments  from  the  negro  convicts,  for  both  eating 
and  sleeping. 

1908 

Laws,  1908,  p.  186.  In  no  case  shall  male  and  female  nor  white  and 
colored  convicts  be  allowed  to  sleep  in  the  same  apartment,  or  where 
they  can  have  access  to  each  other,  and  as  far  as  practicable  they 
must  be  worked  separately. 


136  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

Missouri 
1865 

Laws,  1864,  p.  68.  All  persons  of  color  claiming  to  be  married  and 
wishing  to  continue  so,  must  be  remarried.  A  list  of  the  children 
shall  be  recorded  by  the  reputed  father  and  mother  of  children. 

Laws,  1864,  p.  126.  Strikes  out  word  "white"  from  school  laws  and 
makes  provision  for  the  instruction  of  all  children,  provided  they 
are  sent  to  separate  schools.  (Law  of  1846-1847,  p.  103,  forbade 
teaching  negroes.) 

Constitution,  1865,  Article  IX.  Section  2.  Separate  free  public 
schools  are  required  for  white  and  negro  children.  The  school  fund 
must  be  appropriated  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  children,  with 
out  regard  to  color. 

Constitution,  1865,  Article  I.  Section  j.  No  person  on  account  of 
color  shall  be  subjected  in  law  to  any  other  restraints  or  disquali 
fications  in  regard  to  any  personal  rights  than  such  as  are  laid 
upon  others  under  like  circumstances. 

1866 

General  Statutes,  1866,  p.  458.  Section  2.  All  marriages  between 
white  persons  and  negroes  are  prohibited.  Such  marriages  are  abso 
lutely  void. 

1868 

Laws,  1868,  p.  170.  Separate  school  law  repeated.  (1869,  Laws, 
p.  86  the  same.) 

1875 

Constitution,  Article  VIII.  Sections  2  et  seq.  All  citizens  are  allowed 
the  suffrage. 

Constitution,  Article  XI.  Section  j.  Separate  free  public  schools 
shall  be  established  for  the  education  of  children  of  African  descent. 

1879 

Revised  Statutes,  1879.  Section  1540.  Persons  having  one-eighth  or 
more  negro  blood  are  prohibited  from  marrying  white  persons.  The 
penalty  is  two  years  in  the  penitentiary,  or  a  fine  not  less  than  $100, 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  137 

or  imprisonment  in  county  jail  not  less  than  three  months,  or  both 
fine  and  imprisonment.  A  jury  may  determine  the  amount  of  negro 
blood  from  appearance.  Such  marriages  are  void.  (See  Revised 
Statutes,  1845,  p.  729,  prohibiting  intermarriage.) 

1887 

Laws,  1887,  p.  264.  A  school  for  negro  children  shall  be  established 
in  a  district  where  there  are  more  than  fifteen  children  of  required 
age.  Where  there  are  less  than  fifteen  children,  they  may  attend 
school  in  any  district  where  a  separate  school  is  maintained  for  negro 
children.  (See  also  Revised  Statutes,  1909,  Section  10,795,  and 
Laws,  1909,  p.  770.) 

1889 

Laws,  1889,  p.  226.  Separate  free  schools  shall  be  established  for  the 
education  of  children  of  African  descent;  and  it  shall  hereafter  be 
unlawful  in  the  public  schools  of  this  State  for  any  colored  child  to 
attend  any  white  school,  or  for  any  white  child  to  attend  a  colored 
school. 

1899 

Revised  Statutes,  1899.  Sections  2919-2920.  Descendants  of  colored 
persons  dying  intestate  shall  inherit,  notwithstanding  such  descend 
ants  may  have  been  slaves. 

1909 

Laws,  1909,  p.  662.    Marriages  between  white  persons  and  negroes, 

or  white  persons  and   Mongolians  are  prohibited  and  absolutely 

void. 

Laws,  p.  599-    A  State  Industrial  Home  for  Negro  Girls  is  instituted. 


Montana 
1871 

Montana  Territorial  Laws,  1872,  p.  627.  Section  34.  (Common  School 
Law,  1871,  Chapter  88,  Section  34.)  The  education  of  children  of 
African  descent  shall  be  provided  for  in  separate  schools.  Upon 
the  written  application  of  parents  or  guardians  of  at  least  ten  such 


138  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

children  a  separate  school  shall  be  established,  and  the  education 
of  a  less  number  may  be  provided  for  by  the  trustees  in  separate 
schools  in  any  other  manner,  and  the  same  laws,  rules,  and  regula 
tions  which  apply  to  schools  for  white  children  shall  apply  to  schools 
for  colored  children.  (Law  repeated  in  Laws,  1874,  p.  129,  Section 
33,  and  Compiled  Statutes  of  1887,  Section  1892.) 

1889 

Constitution,  1889,  Article  XI.  Section  7.  The  public  free  schools 
of  the  State  shall  be  open  to  all  children  and  youths  between  the 
ages  of  six  and  twenty-one  years. 

1895 

Montana  C.  and  S.,  1895.  Section  1860.  (Public  School  Law,  1895, 
Chapter  6,  Article  8.)  Every  common  school  not  otherwise  pro 
vided  for  by  law,  shall  be  open  to  the  admission  of  all  children.  (No 
mention  whatever  of  separate  schools,  or  of  African  children.) 

1909 

Laws,  49,  p.  57.  Section  I.  Every  marriage  hereafter  contracted 
between  a  white  person  and  a  negro  or  a  person  of  negro  blood,  or 
in  part  negro,  shall  be  utterly  null  and  void. 

Section  2.     Same  provision  for  a  white  person  and  Chinese. 

Section  j.     Same  provision  for  a  white  person  and  Japanese. 

Section  5.  Any  one  solemnizing  such  a  marriage  is  guilty  of  a 
misdemeanor;  the  penalty,  a  fine  of  $500,  or  imprisonment  of  one 
month,  or  both. 


Nebraska 

1857 

Session  Laws,  1857,  p.  107,  Chapter  jj.     Section  I.     No  Indian, 

negro,  mulatto,  or  black  person  is  allowed  to  give  testimony  in  any 

cause. 

1865 

Session  Laws,  1865,  p.  lop.    The  marriage  of  a  white  person  with  a 
negro  or  a  mulatto  is  illegal  and  void.    Misdemeanor,  punishable  by 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  139 

a  fine  of  not  more  than  $100,  or  imprisonment  in  the  county  jail  not 
more  than  six  months,  or  both.  (Revised  Statutes,  1866,  p.  254.) 

1866 

Constitution,  Article  VII.  Free  white  males  only  are  allowed  the 
franchise. 

Revised  Statutes,  1866,  C.  of  C.  P.  Section  328.  Every  person  of  suf 
ficient  capacity  to  understand  the  obligation  of  an  oath  shall  be 
competent  to  testify.  Negroes  and  Indians  who  appear  incapable 
of  receiving  just  impressions  of  facts  shall  be  incompetent  to  testify. 

1867 

Laws,  1867,  p.  20.  Strikes  out  "free  white"  from  franchise  require 
ments.  No  denial  of  elective  franchise  by  reason  of  race  or  color. 

I885 

Laws,  1885,  p.  393.  (Civil  rights.}  All  persons  shall  be  entitled  to 
full  enjoyment  of  equal  privileges  of  inns,  public  conveyances,  bar 
ber  shops,  theaters,  and  other  places  of  amusement,  subject  only  to 
the  conditions  and  limitations  established  by  law,  and  applicable 
alike  to  every  person. 

The  penalty  for  violation  of  above  by  denying  except  for  reasons 
by  law  applicable  to  all  persons  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  accommo 
dations,  advantages,  facilities,  enumerated  in  the  foregoing,  is  that 
such  persons  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  shall  be  fined  not 
less  than  $10,  nor  more  than  $25,  and  pay  the  costs  of  the  prose 
cution. 

1893 

Laws,  1893,  p.  141.  Civil  Rights  Law  of  1885  amended.  Adds 
"restaurants"  after  "inns."  The  penalty  is  changed  to  a  fine  of  from 
$25  to  $100,  and  payment  of  costs. 


Statutes,  IQII.  Sectionjigd.  Upon  the  dissolution  or  decree  of  nullity 
of  a  marriage  prohibited  on  account  of  consanguinity  or  of  any 
marriage  between  a  white  and  a  colored  person,  the  issue  of  such 
marriage  shall  be  deemed  illegitimate. 


140  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

Statutes,  IQII.  Section  4275.  Marriages  are  void  between  a  white 
person  and  one  of  one-quarter  or  more  negro  blood. 

1913 

Revised  Statutes,  1913.  Section  7893.  Indians  and  negroes  who 
appear  to  be  incapable  of  receiving  just  impressions  of  facts  respect 
ing  which  they  are  examined,  or  of  relating  them  intelligently  and 
truly,  shall  be  incompetent  as  witnesses. 


Nevada 
1861 

Laws,  1 86 1,  p.  93.  If  any  white  man  or  woman  intermarry  with  any 
black  person,  mulatto,  Indian,  or  Chinese,  it  is  a  misdemeanor. 
The  penalty  is  imprisonment  in  the  State  prison  from  one  year  to 
two  years.  Uniting  such  persons  in  marriage  is  a  misdemeanor, 
punishable  by  imprisonment  in  the  State  prison  from  one  to  three 
years. 

If  any  white  person  lives  and  cohabits  with  any  black  person, 
Indian,  or  Chinese  in  a  state  of  fornication  each  shall  be  fined  from 
$500  to  $100  or  confined  in  the  county  jail  from  one  to  six  months, 
or  both.  Fines  shall  be  set  apart  for  the  common  school  fund. 

1864 

Constitution,  1864,  Article  II.  Section  I.  White  males  only  are 
allowed  the  vote. 

1865 

Laws,  1864-1865,  p.  426.  Section  50.  Negroes,  Mongolians,  and 
Indians  shall  not  be  admitted  into  public  schools.  The  superin 
tendent  of  public  instruction  may  withhold  from  a  school  district 
all  share  of  State  school  funds  in  such  case. 

The  Board  of  Trustees  of  any  district  may,  if  deemed  advisable, 
establish  a  separate  school  for  education  of  negroes,  Mongolians, 
and  Indians  and  use  public  school  funds  for  the  support  of  same. 
Laws,  1864-1865,  p.  403.  Negroes  have  right  to  testify  if  not  either 
in  favor  of  or  against  a  white  person.  The  credibility  of  such  negro, 
black,  or  mulatto  person  shall  be  left  entirely  with  the  jury. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  141 

1866 

Revised  Laws,  1866.  Section  3128.  No  distinction  shall  be  made  in 
the  construction  or  execution  of  these  laws  on  account  of  race  or 
color.  (Homestead  Laws.) 

1873 

Laws,  1873,  p.  89.  Act  to  compel  children  to  attend  school.  All 
children  from  eight  to  fourteen  years  of  age  shall  attend  schools. 
(No  separate  district  or  separate  schools  mentioned.) 

1912 

Revised  Laws,  1912.  Section  6514-6517.  It  is  unlawful  for  a  person 
of  Caucasian  or  white  race  to  intermarry  with  any  person  of  Ethio 
pian  or  black  race,  Malay  or  brown  race,  Mongolian  or  yellow  race, 
or  Indian  or  red  race,  within  the  State.  Such  person  is  guilty  of  a 
gross  misdemeanor.  The  minister,  etc.,  who  performs  the  ceremony 
of  marriage  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor. 

A  white  person  who  lives  and  cohabits  with  any  black  person, 
mulatto,  Indian,  or  any  person  of  Malay  or  brown,  or  Mongolian  or 
yellow  race,  in  a  state  of  fornication,  shall  be  fined  not  to  exceed 
$500,  nor  less  than  $100,  or  confined  in  the  county  jail  from  six 
months  to  one  year,  or  both. 


New  Hampshire 
1694 

May  24,  1694,  i  Province  Laws,  570.  The  same  measure  and  same 
text  as  Act  of  May  14,  1718,  quoted,  but  the  law  was  disallowed  by 
the  Queen,  November  19,  1706,  for  certain  reasons. 

1714 

May  15,  1714,  Chapter  16.  Laws,  1716  edition,  p.  48;  1771  edition, 
p. 52.  An  Act  to  Prevent  Disorders  in  the  Night.  "Whereas  Great  Dis 
orders  Insolencies  &  Burglaries  are  oft  times  Raised  &  committed 
in  the  Night  time  by  Indian,  Negro,  &  Molatto,  Servants  and 
Slaves ; 

"Be  it  Enacted  that  Noe  Indian,  Negro,  or  Molatto,  Servant  or 
Slave  may  presume  to  be  absent  from  the  ffamilies  where  they 
Respectively  belong  or  be  found  abroad  in  the  Night  time  after 


142  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

Nine  a  Clock;  Unless  it  be  upon  Errand  for  their  Respective  Mas 
ters  or  Owners." 

All  officials  and  householders  empowered  to  apprehend  any  such. 
Then  to  go  to  the  House  of  Correction  to  receive  the  Discipline  of 
the  House,  and  then  be  dismissed  back  home;  or  where  there  is 
no  House  of  Correction  to  be  openly  whipped  not  exceeding  ten 
stripes. 

1716 

January  6,  1715-1716,  Chapter  2.  Laws,  1716  edition,  p.  57;  1771 
edition,  p.  57.  No  Innholder,  Taverner,  etc.,  shall  suffer  any  appren 
tice,  servant,  or  Negro  to  sit  drinking  in  the  House  or  to  have  any 
manner  of  drink  there  without  special  order  or  allowance  of  their 
respective  Masters,  on  pain  of  forfeiting  the  sum  of  ten  shillings,  for 
every  such  offence. 

1718 

May  14,  1718,  Chapter  21.  Laws,  1716  edition,  p.  91;  1771  edition, 
p.  92.  An  Act  for  the  Regulating  of  the  Militia.  Section  12.  This  act 
exempted  from  all  military  training  certain  state  officials,  ministers, 
elders,  and  deacons  of  churches,  physicians,  schoolmasters,  etc.,  and 
Indians  and  negroes.  Also  disabled  persons. 

May  14,  1718,  Chapter  25.  Laws,  1716  edition,  p.  99;  1771  edition, 
p.  101.  Act  for  restraining  inhuman  severities. 

The  second  section  says:  "If  any  Person  shall  wilfully  kill  his 
Indian  or  Negro  Servant  or  Servants,  he  shall  be  Punished  with 
Death." 

1792 

June,  1792.     Repeal  of  law  of  1714  to  "Prevent  Disorders  in  the 

Night." 

June  20, 1792.    Repeal  of  law  of  1715-1716,  January  6,  as  to  negroes, 

etc.,  drinking  in  taverns. 

June  20,  1792.    Repeal  of  law  of  May  14,  1718,  "Act  for  restraining 

inhuman  severities." 

1857 

Laws,  1857,  Chapter  1955.  Section  I.  African  descent  shall  not 
disqualify  a  person  from  becoming  a  citizen  of  the  State. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  143 

New  Jersey 
1702 

Laws,  1702,  p.  640.     When  negroes  are  vended  in  New  Jersey,  an 
account  of  them  shall  be  transmitted. 
Laws,  1702,  p.  642.    Negroes  are  to  be  converted  and  not  murdered. 

1844 

Constitution,  1844,  Article  II.    Section  I.    White  males  only  have  the 

right  of  suffrage. 

1853 

Laws,  1853,  p.  374.  Section  3.  When  any  poor  colored  servant  has 
a  right  to  support  from  any  person,  or  estate  of  a  deceased,  such 
servant  may  be  removed  in  same  manner  as  other  paupers  to  the 
township  where  he  last  served.  Nothing  herein  contained  shall  be 
deemed  to  exonerate  any  person  or  estate  from  liability  to  support 
such  poor  colored  servant,  and  the  town  may  recover  all  charges  for 
support. 

I88l 

Laws,  1881,  p.  186.  No  children  between  the  age  of  five  and  eight 
een  years  of  age  shall  be  excluded  from  any  public  school  in  the 
State  on  account  of  his  or  her  religion,  nationality,  or  color. 

1884 

Public  Laws,  p. 33Q.  Section  I.  All  persons  are  entitled  to  equal  rights 
and  privileges  of  inns,  public  conveyances  on  land  or  water,  theaters 
and  other  places  of  public  amusement,  subject  only  to  conditions 
applicable  alike  to  citizens  of  every  race  and  color  regardless  of  any 
previous  condition  of  servitude. 

Section  2.  Persons  violating  this  act  or  aiding  or  inciting  thereto 
must  forfeit  and  pay  to  person  aggrieved  $500,  also  are  guilty  of 
misdemeanor;  punishable  by  a  fine  not  less  than  $500  nor  more  than 
$1,000,  or  imprisonment  of  not  less  than  thirty  days  nor  more  than 
one  year. 

Section  3.  No  citizen  possessing  other  qualifications  shall  be  dis 
qualified  for  service  as  grand  or  petit  juror  in  any  court  of  the  State 
on  account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude.  Any- 


144  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

one  failing  to  summon  or  attempting  to  exclude  any  person  because 
of  race  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  and  be  fined  not  more 
than  $5,000. 

1894 

Public  Laws,  1894,  p.  5J/.    Provides  for  the  examination  by  the  State 

Superintendent  of  public  instruction  of  the  records  of  the  Colored 

Industrial  Education  Association  of  New  Jersey. 

Public  Laws,  1894,  p.  536.    Provides  for  a  manual  training  school  for 

colored  youth. 

1895 

Public  Laws,  1895,  p.  274.  Militia.  In  addition  to  the  force  herein 
before  organized  there  shall  be  allowed  four  companies  of  colored 
infantry. 

1898 

Public  Laws,  1898,  p.  853.  No  cemetery  association  shall  refuse  to 
permit  the  burial  of  any  deceased  person  therein  because  of  the 
color  of  such  deceased  person.  Any  cemetery  association  offending 
is  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor. 

1902 

Public  Laws,  1902,  p.  441.  No  discrimination  by  insurance  com 
panies  against  persons  wholly  or  partly  of  African  descent  is  per 
mitted. 

Insurance  discrimination  is  forbidden  in  standard  form  (nothing 
as  to  certificate).  The  section  is  applicable  only  to  contracts  of  insur 
ance  issued  on  lives  of  persons  resident  in  this  State  at  time  applica 
tion  for  such  insurance  shall  be  made.  Nothing  shall  require  an 
agent  or  company  to  take  or  receive  the  application  for  insurance  of 
any  person  or  to  issue  a  policy  of  insurance  to  any  person. 

Each  violation  of  act  to  be  punishable  by  a  fine  of  $500  and  costs. 
Half  of  penalty  to  be  paid  by  Commissioner  of  Banking  and  Insur 
ance  to  the  local  firemen's  relief  association,  the  other  half  to  use  of 
State. 

1903 

Public  Laws,  1903  (Second  Sp.  Session),  p.  48.  No  child  between 
the  age  of  four  and  twenty  years  shall  be  excluded  from  any  public 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  145 

school  on  account  of  religion,  nationality,  or  color.  A  member  of 
any  board  of  education  who  shall  vote  to  exclude  from  any  public 
school  such  child  on  account  of  religion,  nationality,  or  color  shall 
be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  punished  by  fine  of  not  less  than 
$50  nor  more  than  $250,  or  by  imprisonment  in  county  jail,  work 
house,  or  penitentiary  for  not  less  than  thirty  days  or  more  than 
six  months,  or  by  both. 

Public  Laws,  1903  (Second  Sp.  Session),  p,  76.  A  normal  training 
and  industrial  school  for  colored  youth  is  provided  for.  It  shall  be 
hereafter  conducted  by  the  State  Board  of  Education.  Tuition 
shall  be  free. 


New  Mexico 
1850 

Organic  Act,  18^0.  Section  6.  Free  white  persons  only  are  given  the 
franchise. 

1857 

Laws,  1856-1857,  p.  48.  No  free  negroes  shall  come  to  this  Terri 
tory  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  themselves  here,  for  a  time 
exceeding  thirty  days.  Attempt  so  to  do  is  punishable  by  from  $50 
to  $100  fine  and  moreover  by  a  sentence  to  hard  labor  in  the  peni 
tentiary  from  one  year  to  two  years. 

Section  2.  If  they  refuse  to  leave  after  complying  with  terms  of 
sentence,  they  shall  have  hard  labor  in  penitentiary  from  two  to 
four  years. 

Section  j.  If  any  negro  or  mulatto  shall  marry  or  cohabit  with 
any  woman  of  the  white  race,  he  is  liable  to  a  penalty  of  hard  labor 
in  penitentiary  from  two  to  three  years.  This  shall  not  affect  free 
negroes  or  mulattoes  married  before  Act. 

Section  4.  If  any  woman  of  the  white  race  marry  or  cohabit  with 
any  free  negro  or  mulatto,  she  is  liable  as  in  the  preceding  section. 
Any  minister,  etc.,  solemnizing  the  prohibited  matrimonies  is  liable 
to  from  $100  to  $200  fine. 

Section  5.  An  owner  setting  free  any  negro  must  transport  same 
beyond  limits  of  territory  within  thirty  days.  From  $100  to  $500 
fine  for  violation. 


146  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

Section  6.  A  free  negro  or  mulatto  now  residing  in  territory,  must 
give  bond  for  good  conduct,  or  else  be  liable  to  penalties  of  Section  i. 

1866 

Laws,  1865-1866,  p.  90.  Act  of  January  29,  1857,  concerning  free 
negroes  is  hereby  repealed.  (Repeal  includes  section  prohibiting 
intermarriage.) 

IQOI 

Laws,  1901,  p.  147.  Section  I.  Any  teachers,  school  directors,  or 
members  of  any  board  of  education  connected  with  the  common 
schools  in  this  State  who  shall  refuse  to  receive  any  pupil  at  a  school 
on  account  of  race  or  nationality,  the  said  pupil  being  entitled  to 
attend,  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  punished  by  a  fine 
from  $50  to  $100  and  imprisonment  in  county  jail  for  three  months, 
and  shall  be  forever  barred  from  teaching  school  or  from  holding 
any  office  of  honor  or  profit  in  this  territory. 

Section  2.  The  superintendent  of  the  county  is  required  sum 
marily  to  remove  from  office  or  employment  any  person  violating 
the  provisions  of  previous  section ;  upon  his  failure  to  do  so  he  shall 
be  removed  from  his  office  by  the  superintendent  of  public  instruc 
tion,  who  is  empowered  to  fill  said  vacancy. 

IQII 

Constitution,  ion,  Article  VII.  Section  3.  Elective  Franchise. 
The  right  of  any  citizen  of  the  State  to  vote,  hold  office,  or  sit  upon 
juries,  shall  never  be  restricted,  abridged,  or  impaired  on  account 
of  religion,  race,  language,  or  color,  or  inability  to  speak,  read,  or 
write  the  English  or  Spanish  languages,  except  as  may  be  otherwise 
provided  in  this  Constitution;  and  the  provisions  of  this  Section 
and  of  Section  I  of  this  article  shall  never  be  amended  except  upon 
a  vote  of  the  people  of  this  State  in  an  election  at  which  at  least 
three-quarters  of  the  electors  voting  in  the  whole  State  and  at  least 
two-thirds  of  those  voting  in  each  county  of  the  State,  shall  vote 
for  such  amendment. 

Constitution,  IQII,  Article  XII.  Section  I.  Education.  Free  public 
schools  open  to  all  the  children  of  school  age  in  the  State  shall  be 
established  and  maintained. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  147 

Section  10.  Children  of  Spanish  descent  in  the  State  of  New  Mexico 
shall  never  be  denied  the  right  and  privilege  of  admission  and  atten 
dance  in  the  public  schools  or  other  public  educational  institutions 
of  the  State,  and  they  shall  never  be  classed  in  separate  schools, 
but  shall  forever  enjoy  perfect  equality  with  other  children  in  all 
public  schools  and  educational  institutions  of  the  State. 


New  York 
1777 

Constitution,  1777,  Article  VII.  Every  male  inhabitant  of  full  age, 
etc.,  is  entitled  to  vote. 

1813 

Laws,  j6th  Session,  p.  247.  (Van  Ness  &  Woodworth.}  Chapter  41, 
Section  8.  Voter  to  be  freeholder,  etc. 

Section  n.  Whenever  any  black  or  mulatto  person  shall  present 
himself  to  vote,  he  shall  produce  a  certificate  of  his  freedom. 

Section  12.  Every  black  or  mulatto  residing  in  the  state  may 
make  proof  of  his  freedom  before  a  judge,  etc.,  and  a  written  cer 
tificate  shall  be  issued  by  the  judge,  etc. 

1814 

Laws,  37th  Session,  p.  84.  A  certificate  of  freedom  shall  be  required 
to  be  produced  at  all  elections  in  the  city  and  county  of  New  York, 
and  without  it  no  black  or  mulatto  person  shall  be  permitted  to  vote. 

1814-1815 

Laws,  1814—1815,  p.  22.  The  Governor  of  the  State  is  authorized 
to  raise  two  regiments  of  free  men  of  color,  for  the  defense  of  State, 
for  three  years  unless  sooner  discharged.  Each  regiment  shall  con 
sist  of  i, 080  men.  They  shall  be  formed  into  a  brigade.  All  com 
missioned  officers  of  the  regiments  in  the  brigade  shall  be  white  men. 

1821 

Constitution,  1821,  Article  II.  Section  I.  The  following  are  entitled 
to  vote:  "Every  male  citizen,  an  inhabitant  of  the  State  one  year 
preceding  any  election,  and  shall  have  within  the  year  next  pre 
ceding  the  election  paid  a  tax  to  the  State  or  county,  assessed  upon 


148  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

his  real  or  personal  property;  or  shall  by  law  be  exempted  from 
taxes,  etc.,  and  also  every  male  citizen  three  years  next  preceding 
the  election  an  inhabitant  of  the  State,  and  shall  have  within  the  last 
year  been  assessed  to  labor  upon  public  highways,  or  paid  the 
equivalent;  but  no  man  of  color,  unless  he  shall  have  been  for  three 
years  a  citizen  of  this  State,  and  for  one  year  next  preceding  any 
election  shall  be  seized  and  possessed  of  a  freehold  estate  of  the  value 
of  $250,  over  and  above  all  debts  and  incumbrance  charged  thereon, 
shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  any  election.  And  no  person  of  color 
shall  be  subject  to  direct  taxation  unless  he  shall  be  seized  and 
possessed  of  such  real  estate  as  aforesaid." 

1824 

Laws,  1824,  Chapter  I/"/.     No  negro  or  mulatto  shall  vote  in  the 

councils  of  the  Stockbridge  Indians. 

1833 

Article  II,  Section  I  of  Constitution.  Amended  by  Amendment  No- 
ii  in  1833,  making  it  as  appears  in  1846  Constitution,  given  below. 

1845 

Laws,  1845,  p.  327.  The  Mayor  and  common  council  of  Brooklyn  are 
authorized  as  they  may  deem  expedient,  to  lay  out  school  districts 
for  colored  children  in  City  of  Brooklyn.  All  provisions  of  law 
relating  to  common  schools,  etc.,  shall  apply. 

1846 

Constitution,  1846,  Article  II.  Section  I.  Every  male  citizen,  an  in 
habitant  of  the  State  for  one  year  next  preceding  any  election,  shall 
be  entitled  to  vote.  But  no  man  of  color,  unless  three  years  a  citizen 
of  the  State,  and  for  one  year  next  preceding  the  election  possessed  of 
a  freehold  estate  of  the  value  of  $250  over  and  above  all  debts  and 
encumbrances,  and  shall  have  been  actually  rated  and  paid  a 
tax  thereon,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote,  and  no  person  of  color  shall 
be  subject  to  direct  taxation  unless  he  shall  be  seized  and  possessed 
of  such  real  estate  as  aforesaid. 


Laws,  1847,  Volume  II,  p.  S27-    Incorporating  the  New  York  Soci 
ety  for  the  Promotion  of  Education  among  Colored  Children.     It 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  149 

may  establish  schools  for  colored  children  from  four  to  sixteen 
years  of  age.  The  income  of  the  society  shall  not  exceed  $10,000. 
The  schools  shall  be  under  direction  of  the  board  of  education  of  the 
city  of  New  York  but  under  the  immediate  government  of  the  cor 
poration.  They  shall  participate  in  apportionment  of  school  moneys 
from  the  school  fund  in  like  manner  and  to  same  extent  as  for  schools 
of  the  public  school  society. 

Laws,  1847,  p.  714.  Section  417.  Separate  colored  schools  may  be 
established  in  any  town  or  city  of  the  state.  They  shall  be  under  the 
charge  of  the  school  trustees  of  the  school  district.  They  shall  divide 
the  school  money  with  the  other  schools  in  proportion  to  the  number 
of  respective  pupils. 

1852 

Laws,  1852,  p.  430.  The  people  of  the  village  of  Canandaigua  are 
authorized  to  establish  a  school  for  education  of  colored  children  of 
village  exclusively.  Provisions  as  to  levying  tax  for  same.  The 
school  under  the  control  of  the  village  trustees.  No  colored  children 
shall  be  allowed  to  attend  the  school  kept  in  any  school  district  in 
Canandaigua  except  the  colored  school,  without  permission  of  all 
trustees  of  such  school  district. 

1864 

Laws,  1864,  Chapter  555,  p.  1211.  An  Act  to  consolidate  the  gen 
eral  acts  relating  to  public  institutions. 

Title  X,  p.  1281.  Schools  for  colored  children.  Section  i.  School 
authorities  of  any  city  or  village  may,  when  deemed  expedient, 
establish  a  separate  school  for  the  instruction  of  children  of  African 
descent  of  five  to  twenty-one  years  of  age.  It  shall  be  supported  in 
same  manner  and  subject  to  same  rules  and  regulations  as  white 
schools. 

Section  j.  Only  legally  qualified  teachers  shall  be  employed  for 
such  schools. 

1868 

Constitution,  1868,  Article  II.  Section  i.  Every  male  inhabitant  of 
the  state  shall  be  entitled  to  vote,  etc.  (No  reference  to  persons  of 
color.) 


150  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

1870 

Laws,  1870.  I,  p.  922.  (Repeal  of  property  qualification.}  Repeals 
all  laws  requiring  of  a  colored  man  offering  to  vote  any  different 
oath  from  that  required  for  a  white  man,  or  requiring  different  ques 
tions  or  answers. 

It  is  not  lawful  for  registers,  or  officers  of  election,  to  reject  a 
name  from  registry,  or  the  vote,  of  any  colored  man,  except  for 
causes  making  it  their  duty  to  reject  the  name  or  the  vote  of  a 
white  man.  Penalty,  a  misdemeanor  with  a  fine  of  $500  and  six 
months'  imprisonment. 

1873 

Laws,  1873,  p.  joj.  No  citizen  of  the  State  shall  by  reason  of  race, 
color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude  be  excepted  or  excluded 
from  full  and  equal  enjoyment  of  the  accommodations  furnished  by 
innkeepers,  by  common  carriers,  whether  on  land  or  water,  by 
licensed  owners,  managers  or  lessees  of  theaters,  or  other  places  of 
amusement,  by  trustees,  commissioners,  superintendents,  teachers 
and  other  officers  of  common  schools  and  public  institutions  of 
learning,  and  by  cemetery  associations. 

Section  2.  Violation  is  a  misdemeanor,  punishable  by  $50  to  $500 
fine. 

Section  j.  Discrimination  against  any  citizen  on  account  of  color 
by  the  use  of  the  word  "white"  or  any  other  term  in  any  law,  statute, 
ordinance,  or  regulation  now  existing  in  this  State  is  repealed  and 
annulled. 

I88l 

Laws,  1 88 1,  Chapter  400,  p.  541.  No  person  shall  be  denied  full  and 
equal  enjoyment  of  accommodations,  advantages,  facilities,  and 
privileges  of  all  hotels,  taverns,  restaurants,  public  conveyances  on 
land  and  water,  theaters  and  other  places  of  public  resort  or  amuse 
ment,  because  of  race,  creed,  or  color.  Denying  because  of  race, 
creed,  or  color,  or  aiding  or  inciting  thereto  every  offense  is  a  mis 
demeanor  and  punished  accordingly. 

1891 

Laws,  1891,  Chapter  119,  p.  288.  No  life  insurance  company  doing 
business  within  this  State  shall  make  any  distinction  or  discrimi- 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  151 

nation  between  white  persons  and  colored  persons,  wholly  or  par 
tially  of  African  descent,  as  to  premiums  or  rates  charged  for  policies 
upon  lives,  nor  demand  a  greater  premium  from  such  colored  per 
sons  than  is  at  that  time  required  from  white  persons  of  same  age, 
sex,  general  condition  of  health  and  prospect  of  longevity;  nor 
require  any  rebate  or  discount  upon  amount  to  be  paid  in  case  of 
death  of  such  colored  persons  insured,  nor  insert  in  a  policy  any 
condition  whereby  such  person  insured  shall  bind  himself  or  his 
heirs  to  accept  any  sum  less  than  full  value  of  policy,  other  than 
imposed  on  white  persons  in  similar  cases,  and  any  such  condition 
or  stipulation  shall  be  void.  Violation  is  a  misdemeanor,  punishable 
by  fine  from  $50  to  $500. 

1893 

Laws,  1893,  Volume  2,  Chapter  692,  p.  1720.  An  Act  amending  the 
penal  code  in  a  number  of  ways.  Repeats  both  1873  and  1881 
Civil  Rights  laws,  as  Section  I  (1873)  and  Section  2  (1881).  Penalty, 
$50  to  $500  fine. 

1894 

Laws,  1894, p.  1288.  (Consol.SchoolLaw,p.i8n.}  Article II.  Schools 
for  colored  children.  Same  as  1864  law,  in  substance.  Adds  new  para 
graph.  Section  j i.  The  colored  schools  in  city  of  New  York,  now 
existing  and  in  operation,  shall  be  classed  and  continued  as  ward 
schools  and  primaries  and  shall  be  open  for  education  of  pupils  for 
whom  admission  is  sought,  without  regard  to  race  or  color. 

Only  qualified  teachers  shall  be  employed.  No  person  shall  be 
employed  to  teach  any  of  such  schools  who  shall  not,  at  the  time  of 
such  employment,  be  legally  qualified. 

1895 

Laws,  1895,  Vol.  I,  Chapter  1042,  p.  974.  (Civil  Rights  Law,  Article 
IV,  Section  40).  Section  I.  Equal  rights  in  places  of  public  accom 
modation  or  amusement.  All  persons  shall  be  entitled  to  the  full 
and  equal  accommodations,  advantages,  facilities  and  privileges  of 
inns,  restaurants,  hotels,  eating-houses,  bath-houses,  barber  shops, 
theaters,  music-halls,  public  conveyances  on  land  and  water,  and 
all  other  places  of  public  accommodation  or  amusement,  subject 


152  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

only  to  conditions  and  limitations  established  by-law  and  applicable 
alike  to  all  citizens. 

Section  2.  (Section  41).  Penalty  for  violation:  Any  person  who 
shall  violate  any  of  the  provisions  except  for  reasons  applicable 
alike  to  all  citizens  of  every  race,  creed,  or  color,  and  regardless  of 
race,  creed,  or  color,  by  denying  the  full  enjoyment  of  any  of  the 
accommodations,  advantages,  facilities,  or  privileges  in  said  section 
enumerated,  or  by  aiding  such  denial,  shall  for  every  such  offense 
forfeit  and  pay  not  less  than  $100  nor  more  than  $500  to  the  person 
aggrieved  thereby,  and  shall  also  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor, 
and  upon  conviction  thereof  shall  be  fined  not  less  than  $100  nor 
more  than  $500,  or  shall  be  imprisoned  not  less  than  thirty  days  nor 
more  than  ninety  days,  or  both. 

Section  j.  No  citizen  of  the  State  possessing  all  other  qualifica 
tions,  shall  be  disqualified  to  serve  as  grand  or  petit  juror  in  any 
court  on  account  of  race,  creed,  or  color.  Any  person  charged  with 
any  duty  in  the  selection  or  summoning  of  jurors,  failing  to  summon 
any  individual  for  the  cause  aforesaid,  is  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor 
and  may  be  fined  $100  to  $500,  or  imprisoned  from  thirty  to  ninety 
days,  or  both.  (See  Consol.  Laws,  1909,  Vol.  I,  p.  313.) 

1899 

Laws,  1899,  Volume  II,  Chapter  724,  p.  1556.  Penal  code  amended 
by  inserting  Section  383a.  Discrimination,  when  prohibited.  If  a 
person  who  owns,  occupies,  manages,  or  controls  a  building,  park, 
enclosure,  or  other  place,  opens  same  to  public  generally  at  stated 
periods  or  otherwise,  he  shall  not  discriminate  against  any  person 
or  class  of  persons  in  the  price  charged  for  admission  thereto.  Viola 
tion  of  this  act  is  a  misdemeanor. 

1900 

Laws,  IQOO,  Volume  //,  Chapter  492,  p.  1173.  An  Act  to  secure 
equal  rights  to  colored  children  in  State  of  New  York,  and  to  repeal 
1894,  Chapter  556,  Article  II,  Section  28. 

Section  I.  No  person  shall  be  refused  admission  into  or  be  ex 
cluded  from  any  public  school  in  the  State  of  New  York  on  account 
of  race  or  color. 

Section  2.     Repeals  previous  separation  law  of  1864. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  153 

1910 

Education  law  ( Volume  VIII  of  Consol.  Laws,  IQIO) ,  Article  XXX  VI, 
p.  200.  Section  920.  No  exclusion  on  account  of  race  or  color. 
No  person  shall  be  refused  admission  into  or  be  excluded  from  any 
public  school  in  the  State  of  New  York  on  account  of  race  or  color. 
(See  1900  Law.) 

Section  921.  Provisions  for  separate  schools.  The  trustees  of 
any  union  school  district,  or  of  any  school  district  organized  under 
a  special  act,  may,  when  the  inhabitants  of  any  district  shall  so 
determine,  by  resolution,  at  any  annual  meeting,  or  at  a  special 
meeting  called  for  that  purpose,  establish  separate  schools  for  in 
struction  of  colored  children  resident  therein,  and  such  school  shall 
be  supported  in  the  same  manner  and  receive  the  same  care,  and  be 
furnished  with  same  facilities  for  instruction,  as  the  white  schools 
therein.  (See  1894  Law.) 

1913 

Laws,  1913,  p.  1405.  Authorized  an  Emancipation  Proclamation 
Commission  of  nine  members  to  arrange  in  the  City  of  New  York  an 
exhibition  and  celebration  to  commemorate  the  fiftieth  anniversary 
of  the  Emancipation  Proclamation.  Authorized  a  full  exhibit  to 
show  the  progress  of  the  colored  people  since  the  Emancipation 
Proclamation.  Appropriation  of  $25,000. 

Laws,  1913,  p.  2201.  Section  I.  Laws  of  1909,  Chapter  41,  Article 
II,  Military  Law,  Chapter  36  of  Consolidated  Laws,  p.  2333, 
amended  by  adding  new  section,  to  be  section  40. 

Section  40.  Colored  Regiment  of  Infantry.  Within  three  months 
after  this  section  takes  effect,  the  adjutant  general  shall  organize 
and  equip  a  colored  regiment  of  infantry  in  the  City  of  New  York. 
Such  regiment  when  organized  and  equipped  shall  become  a  part 
of  the  national  guard  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  subject  to  all 
the  statutes,  rules,  and  regulations  governing  such  national  guard. 
The  officers  of  such  regiment  shall  be  commissioned  by  the  governor 
subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  chapter  in  relation  to  eligibility  and 
examination.  The  armory  board  of  the  City  of  New  York  shall 
provide  quarters  for  such  regiment. 

(A  different  Section  40  was  added  by  Laws,  1911,  Chapter  285, 
p.  685,  and  amended  by  Laws,  1915,  p.  1217.  This  different  Sec 
tion  40  relates  to  Aides.) 


154  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

Laws,  1913,  p.  481.    Act  to  amend  Civil  Rights  Law,  Chapter  6  of 
Consolidated  Laws  (Laws,  1895,  Vol.  I,  p.  974),  to  read  as  follows: 

Section  I.  Section  40  is  amended  to  read  as  follows: 
Section  40.  All  persons  are  entitled  to  the  full  and  equal  accommo 
dations  of  any  place  of  public  accommodation,  resort,  or  amuse 
ment,  subject  only  to  conditions  and  limitations  established  by  law 
and  applicable  alike  to  all  persons.  No  person,  being  the  owner,  lessee, 
proprietor,  manager,  superintendent,  agent,  or  employee  of  any 
such  place,  shall  directly  or  indirectly  refuse,  to  any  person,  any 
of  the  accommodations  thereof,  or  directly  or  indirectly  publish, 
circulate,  issue,  display,  post,  or  mail  any  written  or  printed  commu 
nication,  notice,  or  advertisement  to  the  effect  that  any  of  the  accom 
modations  of  any  such  place  shall  be  refused  to  any  person  on 
account  of  race,  creed,  or  color,  or  that  the  patronage  or  custom 
thereat  of  any  person  belonging  to  any  particular  race,  creed,  or 
color  is  unwelcome,  objectionable,  or  not  acceptable,  desired,  or 
solicited.  The  production  of  any  such  written  or  printed  com 
munication,  notice,  or  advertisement  purporting  to  relate  to  any 
such  place  and  to  be  made  by  any  person  being  the  owner  or  man 
ager  thereof,  shall  be  presumptive  evidence  in  any  civil  or  criminal 
action  that  the  same  was  authorized  by  such  person.  A  place  of 
public  accommodation,  resort,  or  amusement  shall  be  deemed  to 
include  any  inn,  tavern,  or  hotel,  whether  conducted  for  the  enter 
tainment  of  transient  guests,  or  for  the  accommodation  of  those 
seeking  health,  recreation,  or  rest,  any  restaurant,  eating  house, 
public  conveyance  on  land  or  water,  bath  house,  barber  shop, 
theater,  and  music  hall.  Nothing  herein  contained  shall  be  con 
strued  to  prohibit  the  mailing  of  a  private  communication  in 
writing  sent  in  response  to  a  specific  written  inquiry. 

Section  2.  Section  41  is  amended  to  read  as  follows: 
Section  41.  The  penalty  for  violation,  or  aiding  or  inciting  viola 
tion  of  any  of  said  provisions,  is  a  forfeit  from  $100  to  $500,  to  be 
recovered  by  the  person  aggrieved  or  by  any  resident  of  this  State  to 
whom  such  person  shall  assign  his  cause  of  action ;  and  the  offender 
shall  also  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  punishable  by  a  fine  of 
$100  to  $500,  or  imprisonment  from  thirty  days  to  ninety  days, 
or  both. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  155 

1915 

Laws,  1915,  p.  2J5/.  Historical  and  Industrial  Exposition.  The 
Governor  was  authorized  to  appoint  five  commissioners  for  the  State 
of  New  York  for  the  National  Exposition  at  Richmond,  Virginia, 
July  and  August,  1915,  under  the  auspices  of  the  National  Histori 
cal  and  Industrial  Association,  to  celebrate  the  fiftieth  anniversary 
of  Emancipation. 

The  commissioners  were  directed  to  gather  an  exhibit  reflecting 
the  thought  and  genius  of  the  negroes  of  New  York. 


North  Carolina 
1866 

Laws,  1866,  Chapter  40.  Section  5.  Persons  formerly  slaves,  who 
have  complied  with  provisions  of  Act  of  March  10,  1866,  are  deemed 
lawfully  married. 

1868 

Laws,  1868,  p.  jj.  White  and  colored  members  of  the  detailed 
militia  shall  not  be  compelled  to  serve  in  same  companies. 

Constitution,  1868,  Article  VI.  Section  I.  Removed  limitation  of 
suffrage  to  white  persons. 

1873 

Laws,  1873,  p.  587.  Marriages  between  a  white  person  and  a  negro 
or  Indian,  or  a  white  person  and  a  person  of  negro  or  Indian  descent 
to  third  generation  inclusive,  are  void.  No  marriage  followed  by 
cohabitation  and  birth  of  issue  shall  be  declared  void  after  death 
of  either  of  the  parties  for  any  of  causes  stated,  except  for  that  one 
of  the  parties  was  a  white  person  and  the  other  a  negro  or  Indian, 
or  of  negro  or  Indian  descent  to  third  generation  inclusive,  and  for 
bigamy.  (See  Laws,  1834,  Chapter  24,  and  Laws,  1838,  p.  33.) 

1874 

Laws,  1874-1875,  p.  92.     No  white  children  shall   be   bound   as 

apprentices  to  colored  masters  or  mistresses. 


156  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

1875 

Constitution,  1875,  Article  IX.  Section  j.  Children  of  the  white  race 
and  children  of  the  colored  race  shall  be  taught  in  separate  public 
schools,  but  there  shall  be  no  discrimination  made  in  favor  of,  or 
to  the  prejudice  of,  either  race. 

Constitution,  1875,  Article  XIV.  Section  8.  All  marriages  between 
a  white  person  and  a  negro  or  between  a  white  person  and  a  person  of 
negro  descent  to  third  generation  inclusive,  are  hereby  forever 
prohibited. 

1876-1877 

Laws,  1876-1877,  p.  438.  The  State  Board  of  Education  may  estab 
lish  normal  schools  for  young  men  of  the  white  race.  It  may  also 
establish  a  normal  school  for  young  men  of  the  colored  race,  to  be 
teachers  in  the  schools  of  the  colored  race.  Students  shall  be  ex 
pected  to  teach  not  less  than  three  years  after  leaving  school.  A 
preparatory  department  may  also  be  established. 

1877 

Laws,  1876-1877,  p.  589.  "WHEREAS,  In  the  providence  of  God, 
the  colored  people  have  been  set  free,  and  this  is  their  country  and 
their  home,  as  well  as  that  of  the  white  people,  and  there  should  be 
nothing  to  prevent  the  two  races  from  dwelling  together  in  the  land 
in  harmony  and  peace; 

"WHEREAS,  We  recognize  the  duty  of  the  stronger  race  to  uphold 
the  weaker,  and  that  upon  it  rests  the  responsibility  of  an  honest 
and  faithful  endeavor  to  raise  the  weaker  race  to  the  level  of  intelli 
gent  citizenship;  and 

"WHEREAS,  The  colored  people  have  been  erroneously  taught  that 
legislation  under  Democratic  auspices  would  be  inimical  to  their 
rights  and  interests,  thereby  causing  a  number  of  them  to  entertain 
honest  fears  in  the  premises, 

"The  General  Assembly  of  North  Carolina  do  resolve,  That, 
while  we  regard  with  repugnance  the  absurd  attempts,  by  means 
of  'Civil  Rights'  Bills,  to  eradicate  certain  race  distinctions,  im 
planted  by  nature  and  sustained  by  the  habits  of  forty  centuries; 
and  while  we  are  sure  that  good  government  demands  for  both 
races  alike  that  the  great  representative  and  executive  offices  of 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  157 

the  country  should  be  administered  by  men  of  the  highest  intelli 
gence  and  best  experience  in  public  affairs,  we  do,  nevertheless, 
heartily  accord  alike  to  every  citizen,  without  distinction  of  race 
or  color,  equality  before  the  law. 

"RESOLVED,  That  we  recognize  the  full  purport  and  intent  of 
that  amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  which 
confers  the  right  of  suffrage  and  citizenship  upon  the  people  of  color, 
and  that  part  of  the  Constitution  of  North  Carolina  conferring 
educational  privileges  upon  both  races:  that  we  are  disposed  and 
determined  to  carry  out  in  good  faith  these  as  all  other  constitu 
tional  provisions." 

1879 

Laws,  1879,  Chapter  73.  Children  of  colored  parents  born  before 
January  I,  1868,  of  persons  living  together  as  man  and  wife,  are 
declared  legitimate  children  of  the  parents  or  either  one  of  them. 

1885 

Laws,  1885,  Chapter  51.  Section  2.  p.  92.  The  persons  residing  in 
Robeson  and  Richmond  counties,  supposed  to  be  descendants  of  a 
friendly  tribe  once  residing  in  eastern  portion  of  State,  known  as 
Croatan  Indians,  shall  be  known  and  designated  as  Croatan  Indians. 
They  and  their  descendants  shall  have  separate  schools  for  their 
children  and  there  shall  be  excluded  from  such  separate  schools  for 
the  Croatan  Indians  all  children  of  the  negro  race  to  the  fourth 
generation. 

1887 

Public  Laws,  1887,  p.  499.  (Amending  the  provision  that  all 
marriages  between  an  Indian  and  a  negro  shall  be  void.)  Amended 
by  adding  "Provided  this  act  shall  only  be  applicable  to  the  Croatan 
Indians." 

1889 

Laws,  1889,  Chapter  169.  Section  77.  No  white  child  shall  be  bound 
to  any  other  than  a  white  person,  and  no  negro  child  shall  be  bound 
to  any  white  person,  if  a  competent  and  suitable  negro  can  be  found 
in  the  county  who  desires  such  child  bound  to  him. 


158  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

1899 

Laws,  1899,  Chapter  384,  p.  539.  All  railroad  companies  and  steam 
boat  companies  engaged  as  common  carriers,  other  than  street 
railways,  shall  provide  separate  but  equal  accommodations  for  the 
white  and  colored  races  on  all  passenger  trains  and  steamboats 
carrying  passengers.  Such  accommodations  may  be  furnished  by 
railroad  companies  either  by  separate  passenger  cars  or  by  com 
partments  in  passenger  cars,  which  shall  be  provided  by  the  rail 
roads  under  the  supervision  and  direction  of  the  Board  of  Railroad 
Commissioners.  These  requirements  shall  not  apply  to  relief  trains 
in  cases  of  accident,  to  Pullman  or  sleeping  cars  or  through  express 
trains  that  do  not  stop  at  all  stations  and  are  not  used  ordinarily 
for  travelling  from  station  to  station,  to  negro  servants  in  attend 
ance  on  their  employers,  to  officers  or  guards  transporting  pris 
oners,  or  to  prisoners  so  transported. 

Section  2.  The  railroad  commissioners  are  authorized  to  exempt 
branch  lines  and  narrow  guaged  railroads,  if  in  their  judgment 
enforcement  of  this  act  is  unnecessary  to  secure  the  comfort  of  pas 
sengers,  by  reason  of  light  passenger  traffic  or  small  number  of 
colored  passenger  travellers  on  such  narrow  guaged  or  branch 
lines. 

Section  j.  When  a  car  or  a  compartment  of  a  car  for  either  race  is 
completely  filled  at  a  station  where  no  extra  car  can  be  had,  and  the 
increased  number  of  passengers  could  not  be  foreseen,  the  conductor 
is  authorized  to  assign  a  portion  of  the  car  or  of  the  compartment  for 
one  race  to  passengers  of  the  other  race. 

Section  4.  All  railroad  companies  shall  furnish  first  and  second 
class  passenger  accommodations. 

Section  5.  A  company  failing  to  comply  with  this  act  shall  be 
fined  $100  per  day,  each  day  to  be  a  separate  offense,  to  be  recovered 
in  action  brought  by  any  passenger  on  any  train  or  steamboat  who 
has  been  furnished  accommodations  only  in  a  car  or  compartment 
with  a  person  of  a  different  race,  in  violation  of  the  provisions  of 
this  act. 

I9OI 

Public  Laws,  1901,  p.  64.  In  determining  the  right  of  any  child  to 
attend  the  schools  of  either  race,  the  rule  laid  down  in  Section  1810 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  159 

of  the  Code,  regulating  marriages,  shall  be  followed.  (Provision  of 
Constitution  of  1875,  XIV,  8.) 

Public  Laws,  1901,  p.  351.  Amendment  to  Law  of  1899.  Struck  out 
word  "passenger,"  in  passenger  trains,  etc.,  making  it  read  "all  trains 
and  steamboats  carrying  passengers."  Inserted  in  Section  2,  after 
"railroads"  "and  mixed  trains  carrying  both  freight  and  passen 
gers."  Added  at  end  of  the  sentence,  "and  mixed  passengers." 

1903 

Laws,  1903,  p.  756.  Section  22.  All  white  children  shall  be  taught 
in  schools  for  the  white  race  (and  vice  versa),  but  no  child  with  negro 
blood  in  its  veins,  however  remote  the  strain,  shall  attend  a  school 
for  the  white  race,  and  no  such  child  shall  be  considered  a  white 
child. 

1907 

Public  Laws,  1907,  p.  1238.  All  street,  interurban,  and  suburban 
railway  companies  shall  set  apart  so  much  of  the  front  portion  of  each 
car  as  necessary  for  occupation  by  white  passengers,  and  so  much 
of  the  rear  portion  as  necessary  for  occupation  by  colored  passengers, 
and  shall  require  as  far  as  practicable  the  white  and  colored  pas 
sengers  each  to  occupy  the  respective  part  of  car  so  set  aside. 

Section  2,  Any  white  person  entering  a  street  car  to  become 
a  passenger  shall,  if  necessary  to  carry  out  the  purposes  of  this  act, 
occupy  the  first  vacant  seat  in  the  aisle  nearest  the  front  of  the  car, 
and  a  colored  person  the  first  vacant  seat  nearest  the  rear  end  of  said 
car.  Provided,  no  contiguous  seats  on  the  same  bench  shall  be 
occupied  by  the  white  and  colored  passengers  at  the  same  time 
unless  or  until  all  other  seats  are  occupied. 

Section  5.  Any  officer  violating  Section  I  is  guilty  of  a  misde 
meanor  and  may  be  fined  or  imprisoned  in  the  discretion  of  the  court. 

Section  6.  Any  person  violating  Section  2  is  guilty  of  a  mis 
demeanor  and  may  be  fined  not  more  than  $50  or  imprisoned  not 
more  than  thirty  days.  He  may  be  ejected  by  the  conductor  or 
other  agents  charged  with  operation  of  the  car,  who  are  hereby 
invested  with  police  powers  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  this  act. 

Section  7.  This  act  shall  not  apply  to  colored  nurses  of  white  chil 
dren,  while  in  attendance  upon  such  children  then  in  their  charge, 
or  to  a  colored  attendant  in  charge  of  a  sick  or  infirm  white  person. 


160  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

Section  8.    Such  companies  shall  not  be  liable  for  a  mistake  in  the 
designation  of  any  passenger  to  a  seat  set  apart  for  the  other  race. 

1908 

Revisal,  1908.  Section  4086.  Children  of  the  white  race  and  children 
of  the  colored  race  shall  be  taught  in  separate  public  schools,  but 
there  shall  be  no  discrimination  in  favor  of  either  race.  All  white 
children  shall  be  taught  in  the  public  schools  provided  for  the  white 
race,  and  all  colored  children  shall  be  taught  in  the  public  schools 
provided  for  the  colored  race,  but  no  child  with  negro  blood  in  his 
veins,  however  remote  the  strain,  shall  attend  a  school  for  the  white 
race;  and  no  such  child  shall  be  considered  a  white  child.  The 
descendants  of  the  Croatan  Indians  shall  have  separate  schools  for 
their  children. 

1909 

Public  Laws,  1909,  p.  1215.  White  and  colored  persons  shall  not 
be  confined  and  shackled  together  in  the  same  room  of  any  building 
or  tent  either  in  the  state  penitentiary  or  at  any  state  or  county  con 
vict  camp  during  eating  or  sleeping  hours,  and  at  all  other  times 
separation  of  the  two  races  shall  be  as  complete  as  practicable.  Any 
officer  violating  the  above  provision  shall  be  guilty  of  misdemeanor 
and  fined  not  more  than  $50  or  imprisoned  not  more  than  thirty  days. 
Public  Laws,  1909,  p.  1256.  Amending  Public  Laws,  1907,  Chapter 
850.  The  act  strikes  out  all  of  Section  7  after  the  word  "to"  in  line 
one,  and  adds  the  words:  "Nurses  or  attendants  of  children  or  of 
sick  or  of  infirm  of  a  different  race,  while  in  attendance  upon  such 
children,  sick,  or  infirm  persons." 

I9II 

Public  Laws,  1911,  p.  286.  A  Reform  and  Manual  Training  School 
for  Colored  Youths  is  authorized  for  the  training  and  the  moral  and 
industrial  development  of  the  criminally  delinquent  colored  children 
of  the  State  under  sixteen  years  of  age. 

1915 

Public  Laws,  1915,  p.  J55-  In  every  public  and  private  hospital, 
sanatorium,  and  institution  in  North  Carolina  where  colored  pa 
tients  are  admitted  for  treatment  and  where  nurses  are  employed, 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  161 

it  shall  be  mandatory  upon  the  management  of  every  such  hospital, 
sanatorium,  and  institution  to  employ  colored  nurses  to  care  for 
and  wait  upon  said  colored  patients. 

Section  2.  Every  person,  firm,  or  corporation  violating  the  pro 
visions  of  this  act  is  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  upon  conviction 
shall  be  fined  $.so  for  each  and  every  offense. 


North  Dakota 

1867-1868 

Laws  of  Dakota  Territory,  1867-1868,  p.  255.    The  word  "white" 
was  removed  from  the  qualifications  for  suffrage. 


Ohio 
1804 

Acts,  1803-1804,  p.  63.    An  act  to  regulate  black  and  mulatto  per 
sons. 

No  black  or  mulatto  person  is  permitted  to  reside  in  the  state 
without  a  certificate  of  his  freedom.  He  must  register  in  the  county 
clerk's  office.  An  employer  cannot  hire  any  blacks  or  mulattoes 
unless  they  have  a  certificate  from  the  county  clerk. 

1806-1807 

Laws,  1806-1807,  P-  53-    Section  /.    A  negro  or  mulatto  is  not  per 
mitted  to  settle  in  the  State  without  filing  bond  for  good  behavior. 
Section  4.     No  black  or  mulatto  is  to  give  evidence  where  either 
party  to  the  cause  is  a  white  person. 

1829 

Laws,  1820,  p.  72.    Act  to  provide  for  the  support  and  better  regu 
lation  of  common  schools. 

Section  i.  A  fund  shall  hereafter  be  raised  for  the  use  of  common 
schools,  for  the  instruction  of  youth  of  every  class  and  grade  without 
distinction,  in  reading,  writing,  arithmetic  and  other  necessary 
branches  of  a  common  education.  Provided  that  nothing  in  this  act 
contained  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  permit  black  or  mulatto  per 
sons  to  attend  the  schools  hereby  established,  or  to  compel  them  to 


1 62  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

pay  any  tax  for  support  of  such  schools;  but  all  taxes  assessed  on 
their  property,  for  school  purposes,  shall  be  appropriated  as  the 
trustees  of  the  several  townships  may  direct,  for  the  education  of 
said  black  and  mulatto  persons  therein,  and  for  no  other  purpose, 
whatever. 

1834 

Laws,  1834,  p.  22.     Provisions  as  to  recording  certificates  of  color. 

1837 

Laws,  1837-1838,  p.  21.  (School  Act.)  A  fund  shall  be  provided  for 
the  education  of  all  white  youth  in  this  state. 

Section  2.  In  the  tax  levied  on  taxable  property,  the  property  of 
black  and  mulatto  persons  is  excepted. 

1838-1839 

Laws,  1838-1839,  p.  61.  (School  Act.)  All  white  youth  over  four 
and  under  twenty-four  years  of  age  shall  have  equal  privileges  in 
all  common  schools  in  the  state. 

1847-1848 

Laws,  1847—1848,  p.  81.  An  act  to  provide  for  the  establishment  of 
common  schools  for  the  education  of  children  of  black  and  mulatto 
persons.  Property  of  black  and  colored  persons  shall  be  taxed  for 
schools  for  black  or  colored  persons;  but  in  any  district  in  which  the 
children  of  black  and  colored  persons  are  permitted  to  attend  the 
common  schools  with  the  children  of  white  persons,  then  such 
fund  is  to  be  added  to  the  common  school  fund  of  district. 

Section  2.  In  a  district  with  twenty  black  or  colored  children,  it 
is  lawful  for  colored  persons  to  organize  a  district,  to  appoint  school 
directors  of  their  own  number,  and  to  erect  a  schoolhouse,  etc. 

Section  5.  Where  less  than  twenty  black  or  colored  children  are 
desirous  of  attending  school,  the  school  directors  shall  admit  said 
children  into  schools  for  white  children,  provided  no  written  objec 
tion  be  filed  with  the  directors. 

Section  6.  If  the  white  inhabitants  will  not  permit  them  to  attend 
the  schools  for  white  children,  no  black  or  colored  person's  property 
shall  be  taxed  for  school  purposes. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  163 

Section  9.  Property  of  white  persons  shall  not  be  taxed  for  schools 
for  black  or  colored  children  contrary  to  the  wishes  of  such  tax 
payers. 

1848-1849 

Laws,  1848-1849,  p.  17.  An  act  to  authorize  establishment  of  sepa 
rate  schools  for  education  of  colored  children. 

Section  I.  The  trustees  of  townships,  etc.,  in  case  they  shall  not 
deem  it  expedient  to  admit  the  colored  children  into  the  regular 
common  schools,  are  authorized  and  required  to  create  school 
districts  for  colored  persons. 

Section  2.  They  shall  call  a  meeting  of  colored  tax-payers  to 
organize  for  school  purposes. 

Section  6.  Repeals  Act  of  February  24,  1848  (Laws,  1847-1848, 
p.  81),  for  black  schools,  and  Act  of  January  5,  1804  (Acts,  1803- 
1804,  p.  63),  to  regulate  black  and  mulatto  persons,  and  acts 
amending  the  same  of  January  5,  1807  (Laws,  1806-1807,  p.  53),  and 
February  27,  1834  (Laws,  1834,  p.  21). 

1851 

Constitution,  1851,  Article   V.     Section  I.     White  males  only  are 

allowed  the  franchise. 

1852 

Laws,  1852,  p.  429.  (Act  to  provide  for  reorganization  of  common 
schools),  p.  441.  Township  boards  of  education  in  the  state  are 
required  to  establish  separate  schools  for  colored  children  where 
more  than  thirty  wish  to  attend  school.  Such  schools  shall  be  under 
control  and  management  of  the  board  of  education.  Division  of 
funds  shall  be  made  according  to  the  number  of  children,  regardless 
of  color. 

1861 

Laws,  1861,  p,  6.  Same  as  Laws,  1877,  p.  277,  statute  against  inter 
marriage,  except  adding  in  each  section  "guilty  of  misdemeanor, 
and."  (Original  law.) 

1877 

Laws,  1877,  p.  277.  (See  Laws,  1861.)  Section  I.  A  person  of  pure 
white  blood,  who  intermarries,  or  has  illicit  carnal  intercourse,  with 


164  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

any  negro  or  person  having  a  distinct  and  visible  admixture  of 
African  blood,  and  any  negro,  or  person  having  a  distinct  and 
visible  admixture  of  African  blood,  who  intermarries,  or  has  illicit 
carnal  intercourse  with  any  person  of  pure  white  blood,  shall  be 
fined  not  more  than  $100,  or  imprisoned  not  more  than  three 
months,  or  both. 

Section  2.  A  probate  judge  who  knowingly  issues  a  license  for 
the  solemnizing  of  any  marriage  made  penal  by  this  act  is  guilty 
of  a  misdemeanor;  and  every  person  who  knowingly  solemnizes 
any  such  marriage  shall  be  fined  not  more  than  $100  or  imprisoned 
not  more  than  three  months,  or  both. 

1878 

Laws,  1878,  p.  5/j.  Section  50.  Each  board  of  education  shall 
establish  schools  for  free  education  of  youth  of  school  age — and 
where  in  their  judgment  it  may  be  for  the  advantage  of  the  district 
to  do  so,  they  may  organize  separate  schools  for  colored  children. 

1881 

Revised  Statutes,  1881.  Section  703 2a.  A  Sabbath  desecration  provi 
sion  prohibiting  theatrical  or  other  performances  gives  a  long  list 
including  "Negro  Minstrelsy." 

1884 

Laws,  1884,  p.  15.  Whereas  it  is  essential  to  just  government  that 
we  recognize  and  protect  all  men  as  equal  before  the  law,  and  that 
a  democratic  form  of  government  should  mete  out  equal  and  exact 
justice  to  all,  of  whatever  nativity,  race,  color,  persuasion,  religion 
or  politics;  and  it  being  the  appropriate  object  of  legislation  to 
enact  great  fundamental  principles  into  law,  therefore. 

Section  I.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  General  Assembly  that  all  per 
sons  shall  be  entitled  to  the  full  and  equal  enjoyment  of  accommoda 
tions,  facilities  and  privilege  of  inns,  public  conveyances  on  land 
and  water,  theaters  and  other  places  of  public  amusement,  subject 
only  to  conditions  and  limitations  established  by  law,  and  applica 
ble  alike  to  citizens  of  every  race  and  color. 

Section  2.  For  violating  this  act,  or  aiding  or  inciting  thereto, 
there  shall  be  a  forfeit  for  each  offense  not  to  exceed  $100  paid  to  the 
person  aggrieved ;  also  each  offense  shall  be  a  misdemeanor,  punish- 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  165 

able  by  a  fine  of  not  less  than  $100  or  imprisonment  not  less  than 
thirty  days,  or  both.  Judgment  in  favor  of  the  party  aggrieved, 
or  punishment  upon  an  indictment,  shall  be  a  bar  to  either  prosecu 
tion  respectively. 

Section  j.  No  citizen  possessing  all  other  qualifications  pre 
scribed  by  law  shall  be  disqualified  to  serve  as  grand  or  petit  juror 
in  any  court  of  the  state  on  account  of  race  or  color;  and  any  officer 
selecting  jurors  who  shall  exclude  or  fail  to  summon  any  citizen 
for  the  cause  aforesaid,  is  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  punishable  by 
a  fine  of  not  less  than  $100  or  imprisonment  not  less  than  thirty 
days,  or  both. 

Laws,  1884,  p.  90.  Section  I  of  Act  of  1884,  p.  15,  to  protect  all 
citizens  in  their  civil  and  legal  rights,  is  amended  as  follows: 

Section  I.  That  all  persons  within  the  jurisdiction  of  said  state 
shall  be  entitled  to  the  full  and  equal  enjoyment  of  the  accommo 
dations  and  privileges  of  inns,  restaurants,  eating-houses,  barber 
shops,  public  conveyances  on  land  or  water,  theaters,  and  all  other 
places  of  public  accommodation  and  amusement,  subject  only  to 
the  conditions  and  limitations  established  by  law,  and  applicable 
alike  to  all  citizens. 

1887 

Laws,  1887,  p.  34.  Sections  4008  (Separate  school  law  of  1878,  p. 
513)  and  6987  (Intermarriage  law  of  1877,  p.  277,  Section  i)  and 
6988  (Intermarriage  law  of  1877,  p.  277,  Section  2)  of  the  Revised 
Statutes  of  Ohio  are  hereby  repealed. 

1889 

Laws,  1889,  p.  163.  No  life  insurance  company  shall  make  any  dis 
tinction  or  discrimination  between  white  persons  and  colored  per 
sons  wholly  or  partially  of  African  descent,  as  to  premiums  or  rates 
charged  for  policies  upon  the  lives  of  such  persons,  nor  shall  any 
such  company  demand  or  require  greater  premiums  from  such 
colored  persons  than  are  at  that  time  required  by  such  company 
from  white  persons  of  the  same  age,  etc.,  nor  shall  any  such  company 
make  any  rebate,  diminution  or  discount  upon  the  sum  to  be  paid 
on  such  policy  in  case  of  the  death  of  any  colored  person  insured, 
nor  insert  in  a  policy  any  condition,  nor  make  any  stipulation 
whereby  such  person  insured  shall  bind  himself  or  his  heirs  to  accept 


1 66  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

any  sum  less  than  the  full  value  or  amount  of  such  policy,  other 
than  such  as  are  imposed  upon  white  persons  in  similar  cases,  and 
any  such  stipulation  or  condition  so  made  or  inserted  shall  be  void. 

Section  2.  Any  such  company  refusing  an  application  of  a  colored 
person  for  insurance  upon  life  shall  furnish  a  certificate  of  a  regular 
examining  physician  of  the  company  stating  that  such  person's 
application  has  been  refused,  not  because  such  person  is  a  person 
of  color,  but  solely  on  such  grounds  of  the  general  health  and  hope 
of  longevity  of  such  person  as  would  be  applicable  to  white  persons 
of  the  same  age  and  sex.  Any  corporation  or  any  officer  or  agent  of 
any  corporation  violating  the  provisions  of  this  act  shall  be  fined 
from  $100  to  $200. 

Section  3.  Nothing  in  this  act  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  require 
any  agent  or  company  to  take  or  receive  the  application  for  insur 
ance  of  any  person. 

1893 

Laws,  1893,  p.  345.  Discrimination  between  insurants  of  same  class, 
etc.,  in  premiums,  benefits,  or  terms  of  contract,  shall  be  punished 
by  a  fine  of  not  less  than  $100  nor  more  than  $500,  or  imprisonment 
not  more  than  thirty  days,  or  both. 

1894 

Laws,  1894,  p.  17.  Amending  act  of  1884  (February  7  and  March 
27,  Laws,  1884,  p.  15,  and  p.  90)  to  read  as  follows: 

Section  2,  Any  person  violating  the  provisions  of  the  foregoing 
section  by  denying  to  any  citizen,  except  for  reasons  applicable  alike 
to  all  citizens  of  every  race  and  color,  and  regardless  of  color  or  race, 
the  full  enjoyment  of  any  of  the  accommodations  enumerated,  or  by 
aiding  or  inciting  such  denial,  for  every  offense  shall  forfeit  to  the 
person  aggrieved  from  $50  to  $500  to  be  recovered  in  any  court  of 
competent  jurisdiction  in  the  county  where  said  offense  was  com 
mitted,  and  shall  also  for  every  offense  be  found  guilty  of  misde 
meanor  and  fined  from  $50  to  $500,  or  imprisoned  from  thirty  to 
ninety  days,  or  both,  but  one  penalty  shall  be  a  bar  to  the  other. 

Section  3.  No  citizen  possessing  other  qualifications  shall  be  dis 
qualified  to  serve  as  grand  or  petit  juror  in  any  court  on  account 
of  race  or  color,  and  any  officer,  excluding  or  failing  to  summon  any 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  167 

citizen  for  the  cause  aforesaid,  is  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  punishable 
by  a  fine  of  from  $50  to  $500,  or  imprisonment  from  thirty  to  ninety 
days,  or  both. 


Oklahoma 
1890 

Statutes,  1890,  Article  XIII.  Section  6464.  An  act  establishing  a 
system  of  public  schools  in  the  Territory  of  Oklahoma. 

Article  13.  Separate  schools.  Separate  schools  may  be  established 
as  follows.  Each  three  years  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  April  an  election 
by  school  electors  shall  be  held  to  vote  for  or  against  separate  schools 
for  white  and  colored  children. 

1897 

Laws,  1897,  p.  37.  A  Colored  Agricultural  and  Normal  University  is 
authorized,  for  the  instruction  of  male  and  female  colored  persons  in 
the  art  of  teaching. 

Laws,  1897,  p.  266.    (School  Law.}    Article  I.    Separate  schools. 

Section  i.  Wherever  there  are  eight  colored  children,  there  shall 
be  a  district  formed.  Where  white  children  are  in  the  minority 
there  shall  be  separate  schools  for  them.  The  taxes  shall  be  pro 
rated  according  to  the  number  of  children. 

Section  9.  Hereafter  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  white  child  to 
attend  a  school  for  colored  children  (or  vice  versa).  (See  also  Laws, 
1901,  p.  205,  containing  the  same  provision.) 

1907 

Constitution,  1907,  Article  ij.  Section  j.  Separate  schools  for  white 
and  colored  children  with  like  accommodation  shall  be  provided  by 
the  legislature  and  impartially  maintained. 

Constitution,  1907,  Article  XXIII.  Section  n.  Wherever  in  the 
Constitution  and  laws  of  the  state,  the  words  "color"  or  "colored 
race,"  "negro"  or  "negro  race"  are  used,  they  shall  be  construed  to 
mean  or  apply  to  all  persons  of  African  descent.  The  term  white 
race  shall  include  all  other  persons. 


1 68  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

Laws,  1907-1908,  p.  20 1.  Every  railway  company,  urban  or  sub 
urban  car  company,  street  car  or  interurban  car  railway  company, 
etc.,  shall  provide  separate  coaches  or  compartments  for  the  ac 
commodation  of  the  white  and  the  negro  races,  equal  in  all  points  of 
comfort  and  convenience. 

Section  2.  Every  railroad  company,  street  car  company,  urban 
or  suburban  or  interurban  car  company  shall  provide  for  and 
maintain  separate  and  equal  waiting  rooms  at  all  passenger  depots 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  white  and  the  negro  races.  Each  wait 
ing  room  shall  have  in  a  conspicuous  place  words  in  plain  letters 
indicating  the  race  for  which  it  is  set  apart.  It  is  unlawful  to  use  or 
remain  in  any  waiting  room,  toilet  room,  or  use  any  water  tank,  in 
any  passenger  depot,  set  apart  to  a  race  to  which  one  does  not  belong. 

Section  j.  The  term  negro  includes  every  person  of  African 
descent. 

Section  4.  Each  compartment  of  a  railway  coach  divided  by 
a  good  and  substantial  wooden  partition  with  a  door  therein  is 
deemed  a  separate  coach.  It  shall  bear  in  a  conspicuous  place  appro 
priate  words  indicating  the  race  intended  for,  and  each  compartment 
of  an  urban  or  suburban  car  company,  interurban  car  or  railway 
company,  divided  by  a  board  or  marker,  in  a  conspicuous  place, 
bearing  words  in  plain  letters,  indicating  the  race  intended  for,  shall 
be  sufficient  as  a  separate  compartment. 

Section  5.  Violation  of  this  act  by  any  railway  company,  etc.,  is 
punishable  by  a  fine  of  from  $100  to  $1,000.  Each  trip  shall  consti 
tute  a  separate  offense. 

Section  6.  Violation  of  this  act  by  a  passenger  is  a  misdemeanor, 
punishable  by  a  fine  of  from  $5  to  $25.  If  a  passenger  refuses  to 
occupy  the  proper  place  the  company  may  refuse  to  carry  him. 

Section  7.  This  act  shall  not  apply  to  peace  officers  having  in 
custody  any  person,  or  employees  upon  cars  in  discharge  of  duty, 
or  freight  trains  carrying  passengers  in  the  caboose.  Nothing  shall 
prevent  railway  companies  from  hauling  sleeping  cars,  dining  or 
chair  cars  to  be  used  exclusively  by  either  white  or  negro  passengers 
separately  but  not  jointly. 

Section  8.  This  act  shall  be  posted  in  a  conspicuous  place  in  each 
passenger  depot  and  in  each  passenger  coach. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  169 

Section  p.  This  act  shall  not  prevent  the  running  of  extra  or 
special  trains  or  cars,  for  the  exclusive  accommodation  of  either 
white  or  colored  passengers. 

Section  10.  Conductors  of  trains,  street  cars,  urban,  suburban,  or 
interurban  lines,  have  authority  to  refuse  a  person  admittance  to  a 
compartment  in  which  he  is  not  entitled  to  ride,  and  power  to  re 
move  a  passenger  not  entitled  to  ride.  The  refusal  of  the  conductor 
to  enforce  separation  is  a  misdemeanor,  with  $50  to  $500  fine. 

Section  n.    The  fines  shall  go  to  the  common  school  fund. 

Laws,  1907-1908,  p.  556.  The  marriage  of  any  person  of  African 
descent  as  defined  by  the  Constitution  of  this  state,  to  any  person 
not  of  African  descent,  shall  be  unlawful  and  is  hereby  prohibited 
within  this  state. 

Section  2.  Violation  of  this  provision  is  a  felony  punishable  by  a 
fine  of  not  more  than  $500  and  imprisonment  from  one  to  five  years 
in  the  penitentiary. 

Laws,  1907-1908,  p.  694.  Section  I.  The  public  schools  of  the 
state  of  Oklahoma  shall  be  organized  and  mantained  upon  a  com 
plete  plan  of  separation  between  the  white  and  colored  races  with 
impartial  facilities  for  both  races. 

Section  2.  The  term  "colored"  as  used  in  the  first  section  shall  be 
construed  to  mean  all  persons  of  African  descent,  who  possess  any 
quantum  of  negro  blood,  and  the  term  "white"  shall  include  all 
other  persons.  The  term  "public  school"  within  the  meaning  of  this 
act,  shall  include  all  schools  provided  for  or  maintained  in  whole 
or  in  part  at  public  expense. 

Section  j.  That  wherever  there  shall  be  established  and  main 
tained  a  separate  school,  a  separate  board  of  school  officers  shall 
be  elected  and  chosen  for  the  management  of  such  school  as  is 
provided  for  by  law  for  the  election  of  other  school  officers.  In 
districts  having  separate  school  buildings,  the  electors  of  each 
separate  race  shall  meet  as  now  provided  by  law  at  their  respective 
schools  for  which  said  directors  are  to  be  elected  and  the  electors 
of  one  race  shall  not  participate  in  any  election  pertaining  to  the 
schools  of  the  other  race. 

Section  4.  Any  teacher  in  this  state  who  shall  willingly  and 
knowingly  allow  any  child  of  the  colored  race  to  attend  a  school 


170  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

maintained  for  the  white  race,  or  allow  any  white  child  to  attend  a 
school  maintained  for  the  colored  race,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a 
misdemeanor,  and  upon  conviction  thereof  shall  be  fined  in  any  sum 
not  less  than  $10  nor  more  than  $50,  and  his  certificate  shall  be 
cancelled  and  he  shall  not  have  another  issued  to  him  for  a  period 
of  one  year. 

Section  5.  It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  person,  corporation  or 
association  of  persons  to  maintain  or  operate  any  college,  school, 
or  institution  in  this  state  where  persons  of  the  white  and  colored 
races  are  both  received  as  pupils  for  instruction,  and  any  person 
or  corporation  who  shall  operate  or  maintain  any  such  college, 
school,  or  institution  in  violation  hereof,  shall  be  deemed  guilty 
of  a  misdemeanor,  and  upon  conviction  thereof,  shall  be  fined  not 
less  than  $100  nor  more  than  $500,  and  each  day  such  school, 
college,  or  institution  shall  be  open  and  maintained,  shall  be  deemed 
a  separate  offense. 

Section  6.  That  any  instructor  who  shall  teach  in  any  school, 
college,  or  institution,  where  members  of  the  white  race  and  colored 
race  are  received  and  enrolled  as  pupils  for  instruction,  shall  be 
deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  upon  conviction  thereof, 
shall  be  fined  in  any  sum  not  less  than  $10  nor  more  than  $50  for 
each  offense,  and  each  day  any  instructor  shall  continue  to  teach 
in  any  college,  school,  or  institution  shall  be  considered  a  separate 
offense. 

Section  7.  It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  white  person  to  attend 
any  school,  college,  or  institution  where  colored  persons  are  re 
ceived  as  pupils  for  instruction;  and  any  one  so  offending  shall 
be  fined  not  less  than  $5  nor  more  than  $20  for  each  offense,  and 
each  day  such  a  person  so  offends  as  herein  provided,  shall  be 
deemed  a  distinct  and  separate  offense,  provided  that  nothing  in 
this  act  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  prevent  any  private  school, 
college,  or  institution  of  learning  from  maintaining  a  separate  or 
distinct  branch  thereof  in  a  different  locality. 

1910 

Laws,  IQIO,  p.  208.  Boards  of  county  commissioners  are  authorized 
to  sell  real  estate  held  for  the  purpose  of  separate  or  colored  schools, 
where  the  same  was  not  used. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  171 

1911 

Laws,  ion,  p.  262.     Amending  1907-1908,  Chapter  15,  Article  I, 
Section  7  (Laws,  1907-1908,  p.  201,  Section  7),  to  read  as  follows: 

"And  provided  further  that  the  Corporation  Commission  shall 
have  power  and  authority  to  except  any  station  or  depot  from  the 
requirements  of  the  act  for  such  period  of  time  as  may  be  ordered, 
in  any  city  or  town  where  no  negroes  reside." 


Oregon 
1850-1851 

Laws,  1850-1851,  p.  181.  (1849,  September  26).  No  negro  or  mu 
latto  shall  come  into  the  territory.  If  any  such  come  on  vessels,  the 
owner  or  master  of  the  vessel  shall  be  responsible  for  his  conduct  and 
for  his  removing.  The  negro  cannot  leave  the  port  of  the  vessel 
without  the  written  permission  of  the  master  or  owner. 

1854 

Laws,  1855,  p.  551.    The  above  law  was  repealed. 

1855 

Laws,  1855,  p.  i jo.  No  negro,  mulatto,  or  Indian  shall  be  allowed  to 
testify  in  an  action  to  which  a  white  person  is  a  party. 

1857 

Constitution,  1857,  Article  I.  Section  35.  No  free  negro  or  mulatto, 
not  residing  in  state,  shall  come,  reside,  or  be  within  this  state,  or 
hold  any  real  estate,  or  make  any  contracts,  or  maintain  any  suit 
therein;  and  legislative  assemblies  shall  provide  by  penal  laws  for 
his  removal  and  effectual  exclusion,  and  for  the  punishment  of 
persons  bringing,  or  employing,  or  harboring  him.  (Not  formally 
repealed.  Abrogated  by  Fourteenth  Amendment.) 
Constitution,  1857,  Article  //.  Section  6.  No  negro,  Chinaman,  or 
mulatto  shall  have  the  right  of  suffrage. 

1862 

Laws,  1862,  p.  j6.  An  annual  poll  tax  of  $5  is  required  from  every 
negro,  Chinaman,  kanaka,  or  mulatto.  If  he  fails  to  pay,  he  may 
be  arrested  and  made  to  work  on  public  highway. 


172  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

Laws,  1862,  p.  86.  Marriage  is  prohibited  when  either  party  is  a 
white  person  and  the  other  a  negro  or  a  person  of  one-quarter  or 
more  of  negro  blood,  and  is  absolutely  void. 

1867 

Laws,  1867,  p.  10.  Section  I.  (Lord's  Oregon  Laws,  1910,  p.  945. 
Section  2163.)  Hereafter  it  shall  not  be  lawful  for  any  white  person 
to  intermarry  with  any  negro,  Chinese,  or  any  person  having  one- 
quarter  or  more  negro,  Chinese,  or  kanaka  blood,  or  any  person 
having  more  than  one-half  Indian  blood.  Such  a  marriage  shall  be 
absolutely  null  and  void. 

Section  2.  The  penalty  for  such  intermarriage  shall  be  imprison 
ment  in  the  penitentiary  or  in  the  county  jail  for  not  less  than  three 
months  nor  more  than  one  year. 

Section  j.  The  penalty  for  licensing,  or  for  performing  the  cere 
mony,  for  such  a  marriage,  is  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  or 
in  the  county  jail  for  not  less  than  three  months  nor  more  than 
one  year,  and  a  fine  of  not  less  than  $100  nor  more  than  $1,000. 

1868 

Laws,  1868,  p.  18.     It  is  lawful  for  every  white  male  citizen  of  the 

age  of  sixteen  years  to  keep  and  carry  arms. 

1872 

Statutes,  1872.  Section  700.  All  persons  who  can  perceive  and  make 
known  their  perceptions  to  others  are  given  the  right  to  testify. 


Pennsylvania 
1838 

Constitution,  1838,  Article  II.  Section  I.  White  freemen  are  en 
titled  to  vote. 

1854 

Laws,  1854,  Approved  May  8.  Directors  are  required  to  establish 
within  their  respective  districts  separate  schools  for  the  tuition  of 
negro  and  mulatto  children,  wherever  there  are  twenty  or  more 
pupils;  and  wherever  such  separate  schools  shall  be  established 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  1 73 

and  kept  open  four  months  in  any  year,  the  directors  shall  not  be 
compelled  to  admit  such  pupils  into  any  other  schools  of  the  dis 
trict.  Schools  in  cities  or  boroughs  shall  be  provided  for  out  of  the 
general  funds  for  educational  purposes.  (Repealed  in  1881.) 

1867 

Laws,  1867,  March  22,  p.  38.  Section  I.  Any  railroad  or  railway 
corporation  that  shall  exclude  any  person  on  account  of  color  or 
race,  or  that  shall  refuse  to  carry  in  any  of  their  cars,  set  apart  for 
passengers,  any  person  or  persons  on  account  of  race  or  color,  or  that 
shall  for  such  reason,  compel  or  attempt  to  compel  any  person  or 
persons,  to  occupy  any  particular  part  of  their  cars,  set  apart  for  the 
accommodation  of  people  as  passengers,  shall  be  liable,  in  an  action 
of  debt,  to  the  person  thereby  injured  or  aggrieved,  in  the  sum  of 
$500;  the  same  to  be  recovered  in  an  action  of  debt,  as  like  amounts 
are  now  by  law  recoverable. 

Section  2.  Any  agent  or  employee  of  any  railroad  who  shall 
exclude,  or  allow  to  be  excluded  from  any  passenger  cars,  any  per 
son  on  account  of  color  or  race,  or  who  shall  refuse  to  carry  such 
person  on  account  of  color  or  race,  or  who  shall  throw  any  car  from 
the  track,  thereby  preventing  persons  from  riding,  shall  be  deemed 
guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  upon  conviction  shall  pay  a  fine  not 
exceeding  $500  nor  less  than  $100,  or  be  imprisoned  for  a  term  not 
exceeding  three  months,  nor  less  than  thirty  days,  or  both. 

1869 

Laws,  i86p,  p.  160.  Persons  of  color  shall  not  be  admitted  to  the  sub- 
district  schools  of  Pittsburgh.  (Repealed  in  1872.) 

1870 

Laws,  1870,  p.  5j.  Section  10.  Every  act  providing  that  only  white 
freemen  are  entitled  to  vote,  is  hereby  repealed.  Hereafter  all 
freemen,  without  distinction  of  color,  shall  be  enrolled  and  regis 
tered,  and  shall  when  otherwise  qualified  vote  at  all  elections. 

1872 

Laws,  1872,  p.  1,048.  Repealed  law  of  1869,  p.  160,  as  to  schools 
in  Pittsburgh. 


174  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

I88l 

Laws,  1 88 1,  p.  76.  Section  I.  It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  school 
director,  superintendent,  or  teacher  to  make  any  distinction  what 
ever,  on  account  of  or  by  reason  of  the  race  or  color  of  any  pupil 
or  scholar  who  may  be  in  attendance  upon,  or  seeking  admission  to, 
any  public  or  common  school,  maintained  wholly  or  in  part  under 
the  school  laws  of  this  commonwealth.  (Repealed  law  of  1854.) 

1887 

Laws,  1887,  p.  i jo.  Civil  Rights  Bill.  Any  person,  or  corporation, 
being  the  owner  or  manager  of  any  restaurant,  hotel,  railroad, 
street-railway,  omnibus  line,  theater,  concert  hall,  or  place  of 
entertainment  or  amusement,  who  shall  refuse  to  accommodate, 
convey,  or  admit  any  person  on  account  of  race  or  color,  over  their 
lines,  or  into  their  hotel,  or  restaurant,  theater,  concert-hall,  or 
place  of  amusement,  shall  upon  conviction  thereof  be  guilty  of  a 
misdemeanor,  and  be  punished  by  a  fine  of  not  less  than  $50  and 
not  more  than  $100. 


Rhode  Island 
1798 

Revised  Laws,  1798,  1822,  1852,  1857.     Intermarriage  forbidden. 

The  marriage  of  a  white  person  with  a  negro,  Indian,  or  mulatto 
is  absolutely  null  and  void.  Any  person  joining  them  in  marriage  is 
subject  to  a  penalty  of  $200. 

1872 

Code,  1872,  p.  32$.    Section  6.     Prohibition  of  intermarriage.     Pen 
alty  not  over  six  months'  imprisonment  or  $1,000  fine. 

1881 

Acts,  1881,  p.  1 08.    Repeal  of  the  prohibition  of  intermarriage. 

1882 

General  Laws,  1882,  p.  155.     No  exclusion  from  school  on  account 
of  race  or  color  shall  be  allowed. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  175 

1885 

Laws,  1884-1885,  p.  171.  No  person  shall  be  debarred  from  the 
full  and  equal  enjoyment  of  the  accommodations,  advantages,  facil 
ities,  and  privileges  of  any  licensed  inns,  public  conveyances  on 
land  or  water,  or  from  any  licensed  places  of  public  amusement,  on 
account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude.  Viola 
tion  of  this  act  shall  be  punished  by  a  fine  not  exceeding  $100.  No 
citizen  shall  be  disqualified  for  service  as  grand  of  petit  juror  in  any 
court  on  account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude; 
and  any  officer  who  shall  fail  to  select  or  summon  any  citizen  for  any 
of  the  causes  aforesaid  shall  on  conviction  be  fined  not  exceeding 
$100. 

South  Carolina 
1865 

Acts,  1864-1865,  p.  2Qi.     Section  8.     Marriage  between  a  white 

person  and  a  person  of  color  shall  be  illegal  and  void. 

Laws,  1865,  p.  275,    Persons  of  color  constitute  no  part  of  the  militia 

of  the  state. 

Laws,  1865,  p.  286.    Negroes  can  testify  in  cases  to  which  a  person 

of  color  was  a  party. 

1866 

Acts,  1866,  p.  393.  An  act  to  declare  the  rights  of  persons  lately 
known  as  Slaves  and  Free  Persons  of  Color.  "Nothing  herein  shall 
be  construed  to  repeal  so  much  of  the  eighth  section  of  the  act  rati 
fied  December  21,  1865,  as  enacts  that  "Marriage  between  a  white 
person  and  a  person  of  color  shall  be  illegal  and  void." 

1868 

Constitution,  1868,  Article  X,  Section  10.  All  the  public  schools,  col 
leges  and  universities  of  the  state,  supported  in  whole  or  in  part  by 
the  public  funds,  shall  be  free  and  open  to  all  the  children  and 
youths  of  the  state,  without  regard  to  race  or  color. 
Constitution,  1868,  Article  I.  Section  39.  Distinction  on  account 
of  race  or  color  in  any  case  whatever,  shall  be  prohibited,  and  all 
classes  of  citizens  shall  enjoy  equally  all  common,  public,  legal,  and 


176  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

political  privileges.  (This  included  marriage,  and  rendered  inter 
marriage  lawful.  See  below,  Laws,  1879,  p.  3.) 

1869 

Laws,  1869-18^0,  p.  279.  It  is  not  lawful  for  common  carriers,  or 
any  party  engaged  in  business  for  which  a  license  is  required  by  law, 
to  discriminate  on  account  of  race  or  color,  or  previous  condition. 
The  penalty  is  a  fine  of  $i  ,000  and  also  hard  labor  in  the  penitentiary 
for  five  years.  If  the  fine  is  not  paid,  then  imprisonment  in  the  peni 
tentiary  at  hard  labor  for  not  less  than  six  years. 

The  manager  of  a  theater  or  place  of  amusement  or  recreation, 
if  licensed  or  under  any  public  rule,  making  discrimination,  or  refus 
ing  equal  accommodation,  on  account  of  race,  color  or  previous 
condition,  is  liable  to  $1,000  fine  and  imprisonment  in  the  peniten 
tiary  for  three  years  at  hard  labor. 

Such  person  shall  never  vote  or  hold  any  office. 

Every  corporation  or  party  holding  any  charter  or  license,  violat 
ing  this  act,  shall  forfeit  the  charter  or  license.  If  having  forfeited 
it,  they  continue  to  operate  under  the  same,  a  penalty  is  imposed  of  a 
fine  of  $1,000  and  inprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  for  three  years. 

When  charged  with  refusal  to  admit  any  person  on  account  of 
race,  color  or  previous  condition,  and  the  applicant  is  a  colored  or 
black  person,  the  burden  shall  be  on  the  defendant  to  show  the  same 
was  not  done  in  violation  of  this  act. 

Solicitors  of  the  state  are  specially  charged  vigorously  to  enforce 
this  act.  Failure  to  do  so  is  a  misfeasance  in  office,  and  such  solicitor 
shall  forfeit  his  office,  be  incapable  of  holding  office  for  five  years,  and 
be  fined  $500.  No  solicitor  nor  the  attorney  general  shall  settle  or 
enter  a  nol.  pros,  in  cases  under  this  act  without  consent  of  court. 

1870 

Laws,  1870,  p.  338.  Wherever  authority  has  heretofore  been  con 
ferred  by  law  upon  any  free  white  person  to  institute  any  suit  or 
proceedings,  or  to  prefer  any  information  or  complaint  in  any 
matter,  civil,  penal,  or  criminal,  the  same  rights  shall  be  enjoyed 
by,  and  the  same  remedies  applicable  to,  all  persons  whatsoever, 
regardless  of  race  or  color,  subject  to  the  same  conditions,  and  to  none 
others. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  177 

1872 

Laws,  1872,  p.  183.  All  persons  who,  previous  to  their  emancipa 
tion,  occupied  the  relation  of  husband  and  wife  and  who  are  cohabit 
ing  as  such,  or  who  recognize  the  relation  as  still  existing,  shall  be 
deemed  husband  and  wife.  The  children  of  such  marriages  shall  be 
deemed  legitimate. 

Laws,  1871-1872,  pp.  162-163.  Children  of  white  fathers  and  negro 
mothers  may  inherit  from  the  father  if  he  did  not  marry  another 
woman  but  continued  to  live  with  their  mother. 

1873 

Revised  Statutes,  1873.  No  mention  of  separate  schools  or  the 
reverse. 


Laws,  1879,  p.  j.  Marriage  between  a  white  person  and  an  Indian, 
negro,  mulatto,  mestizo,  or  half-breed  shall  be  null  and  void,  and 
of  none  effect. 

Such  marriage  is  a  misdemeanor,  subject  to  punishment  of  a  fine 
of  not  less  than  $500,  or  imprisonment  for  not  less  than  twelve 
months,  or  both. 

Uniting  persons  of  different  race  in  bonds  of  matrimony,  by 
a  minister,  magistrate,  etc.,  is  a  misdemeanor,  subject  to  the  same 
penalty.  (Reenacted  intermarriage  prohibition,  which  was  repealed 
in  1868.)  (Code,  1912,  Section  3757.) 

Kennington  v.  Catoe,  68  South  Carolina,  pp.  470,  475.  Colored 
children,  born  after  emancipation,  of  a  free  colored  woman,  who  was 
married  to  a  white  man  before  the  act  of  1879  prohibiting  inter 
marrying  of  races,  can  take  property  under  a  will  as  legitimate  chil 
dren.  The  decision  held  that  before  the  Statute  of  1879  there  was  no 
law  in  the  state  making  illegal  the  marriage  of  a  white  man  to  a 
colored  woman.  (See  also  76  N.  C.  242,  and  76  N.  C.  251,  for  similar 
statements  of  the  S.  C.  law.) 

1895 

Constitution,  1895,  Article  III.  Section  jj.  The  marriage  of  a  white 
person  with  a  negro  or  mulatto,  or  a  person  who  shall  have  one- 
eighth  or  more  of  negro  blood,  is  unlawful  and  void. 


178  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

Constitution,  1895,  Article  XI.  Section  8.  Separate  schools  shall  be 
provided  for  children  of  the  white  and  the  colored  race,  and  no  chil 
dren  of  either  race  shall  ever  be  permitted  to  attend  a  school  pro 
vided  for  children  of  the  other  race. 

1896 

Laws,  1896,  p.  i /'i.  Section  $8.  It  shall  be  unlawful  for  pupils  of 
one  race  to  attend  schools  provided  by  boards  of  trustees  for  per 
sons  of  another  race. 

Laws,  1896,  p.  174.  The  establishment  is  authorized  of  the  Colored 
Normal  Industrial  and  Mechanical  College  of  the  South  Carolina 
Branch  of  South  Carolina  University  for  the  higher  education  of 
colored  youth  of  state. 

1898 

Laws,  i8p8,  p.  777.  Section  i.  All  railroads  shall  furnish  separate 
apartments  in  first-class  coaches  or  separate  first  [class]  coaches  for 
the  accommodation  of  white  and  colored  passengers.  Provided, 
equal  accommodations  are  supplied  to  all  persons,  without  distinc 
tion  of  race,  color  or  previous  condition,  in  such  coaches. 

Section  2.  Any  first-class  coach  may  be  divided  into  apartments, 
separated  by  a  substantial  partition,  in  lieu  of  separate  coaches. 

Section  j.  Any  railroad  or  agent  violating  the  provisions  of  this 
act,  is  liable  to  a  fine  from  $300  to  $500  for  each  violation,  to  be 
collected  by  suit  of  any  citizen. 

Section  4.  This  act  is  not  applicable  to  nurses  on  trains  attend 
ing  children  or  sick  of  the  other  race,  nor  to  narrow  guage  roads,  nor 
to  relief  trains  in  case  of  accident,  nor  to  through  vestibule  trains, 
nor  to  officers  or  guards  transporting  prisoners,  nor  to  prisoners 
being  so  transported. 

Section  5.  In  case  a  coach  for  either  white  or  colored  passengers 
is  full  and  another  cannot  be  procured  at  the  time,  the  conductor  is 
authorized  to  set  apart  so  much  of  the  other  coach  as  necessary. 

Section  6.  In  addition  to  the  first-class  coaches  provided  for  in 
this  act,  a  second-class  car  shall  be  furnished  in  which  it  shall  be 
lawful  for  any  and  all  persons  to  ride  by  paying  second-class  fare 
or  having  a  second-class  ticket. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  179 

IQOO 

Laws,  IQOO,  p.  457.    An  act  to  amend  the  act  of  1898,  p.  777. 

Section  i.  The  title  is  amended  by  striking  out  the  words  "or 
separate  apartments  in  coaches"  and  so  reading  "An  act  to  require 
all  railroads  and  railroad  companies  operating  trains  and  doing 
business  in  this  state  to  provide  and  operate  separate  coaches  for 
the  accommodation  and  transportation  of  white  and  colored  pas 
sengers  in  the  state." 

Section  2.  Section  I  of  the  act  is  amended  by  striking  out  "Sepa 
rate  apartments  in  first-class  coaches  or  separate  first  coaches"  and 
so  reading,  "Shall  furnish  separate  coaches  for  the  accommoda 
tion,  etc." 

Section  j.     Sections  2  and  6  of  act  repealed. 

Act  to  read;   Section  I  (as  shown). 

Section  2.  The  act  is  not  to  apply  to  nurses  on  trains  attending 
children  or  sick  of  the  other  race,  nor  to  narrow-guage  roads,  or 
branch  lines,  nor  roads  under  forty  miles  in  length,  nor  to  relief 
trains  in  case  of  accident,  nor  to  through  vestibule  trains  not  in 
tended  or  used  for  local  travel,  nor  to  regular  freight  trains  with  a 
passenger  coach  attached  for  local  travel,  nor  to  officers  nor  guards 
transporting  prisoners,  nor  to  prisoners  or  lunatics  being  so  trans 
ported. 

Section  j.  Railroads  are  not  required  to  have  second-class 
coaches  or  sell  second-class  tickets. 

Section  4.  It  is  unlawful  for  employees  to  permit  white  and 
colored  people  to  occupy  the  same  car,  except  as  herein  allowed. 
Violation  of  this  act  is  a  misdemeanor  punishable  by  a  fine  from 
$25  to  $100. 

Section  5.  Passengers  remaining  in  another  car  than  that  pro 
vided  for  them  are  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  and  may  be  fined  from 
$25  to  $100.  Conductors  and  employees  are  given  the  power  to 
eject  such  passengers. 

Laws,  IQOO,  p.  443.  An  act  establishing  a  state  reformatory  for 
criminals  under  the  age  of  sixteen  years.  It  provides:  The  white 
convicts  shall  be  kept  and  employed  separately  from  colored  con 
victs.  Part  of  the  state  farm  in  the  County  of  Lexington  is  to  be  set 
apart  for  a  reformatory  exclusively  for  colored  boys. 


180  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

1903 

Laws,  1903,  p.  84.  An  act  to  amend  the  Separate  Coach  statute  of 
Laws,  1900,  p.  457.  The  act  adds,  "Provided,  That  all  railroads 
operated  by  steam  under  forty  miles  in  length  shall  furnish  separate 
apartments  for  white  and  colored  passengers;  Provided  further, 
that  when  said  railroads  under  forty  miles  in  length  operate  both  a 
daily  passenger  train  and  a  freight  train,  with  or  without  a  coach 
attached,  said  railroad  shall  be  required  to  furnish  separate  apart 
ments  for  white  and  colored  passengers  only  on  said  passenger 
trains." 

1904 

Laws,  1904,  p.  438.  An  act  amending  further  Laws,  1900,  p.  457. 
The  act  adds,  "Steam  ferries,"  and  "cabins,"  and  so  reading,  "All  rail 
roads  and  steam  ferries  engaged  in  this  state  as  common  carriers  of 
passengers  for  hire,  shall  furnish  separate  coaches  or  cabins,"  etc. 

1905 

Laws,  190$,  p.  9^4.  Electric  railways  outside  the  corporate  limits 
of  cities  and  towns  shall  have  authority  to  separate  the  races  in 
their  cars,  and  conductors  are  authorized  and  directed  to  separate 
the  races  in  said  cars. 

Conductors  and  other  employees  of  electric  railways  while  in 
charge  of  cars  are  invested  with  the  powers  of  peace  officers  and 
authorized  to  make  arrests. 

Conductors  failing  to  separate  the  races  may  be  fined  not  more  than 
$100,  or  imprisoned  for  not  more  than  thirty  days  for  each  offense. 

1906 

Laws,  1906,  p.  ijj.  An  act  establishing  the  South  Carolina  Indus 
trial  School.  After  this  was  established,  the  reformatory  then  in 
operation  on  the  State  Farm  in  Lexington  County  was  directed  to  be 
used  exclusively  for  colored  boys. 

Laws,  1906,  p.  76.  No  persons,  firms  or  corporations  who  or  which 
furnish  meals  to  passengers  at  station  restaurants  or  station  eating- 
houses,  in  times  limited  by  common  carriers  of  such  passengers, 
shall  furnish  said  meals  to  white  and  colored  passengers  in  the  same 
room,  or  at  the  same  table,  or  at  the  same  counter.  Persons  violat- 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  181 

ing  this  act  are  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  and  may  be  fined  from  $25 
to  $100  or  imprisoned  not  more  than  thirty  days. 

IQIO 

Laws,  1910,  p.  702.  It  is  unlawful  for  a  parent,  guardian,  etc.,  to 
give  or  surrender  any  white  child  permanently  into  the  custody, 
control,  maintenance  or  support  of  a  negro.  It  is  a  misdemeanor, 
and  the  person  may  be  fined  or  imprisoned  in  the  discretion  of  the 
presiding  judge.  This  does  not  apply  to  prevent  the  offices  of  a  negro 
in  the  family  of  any  white  person  as  a  nurse. 


Laws,  i pi i,  p.  169.  All  able-bodied  male  convicts  shall  hereafter 
be  sentenced  to  hard  labor  without  regard  to  length  of  sentence. 
Provided  that  a  separation  of  races  shall  be  at  all  times  observed, 
except  in  the  penitentiary  or  on  the  state  farms  and  in  Kershaw 
County. 

South  Dakota 

1867-1868 

Laws  of  Dakota   Territory,  1867-1868,  p.  255.     The  word   "white" 

was  removed  from  the  suffrage  qualifications. 

1909 

Laws,  1909,  Chapter  196,  p.  297.  Intermarriage,  or  illicit  cohabita 
tion,  is  forbidden  between  a  person  belonging  to  the  African  race, 
with  any  person  belonging  to  the  Caucasian  race. 

Violation  of  this  act  shall  be  a  felony,  punishable  by  a  fine  not 
exceeding  $1,000,  or  by  imprisonment  not  over  ten  years,  or  by  both. 

Any  marriage  in  violation  of  the  above  shall  be  void  from  the 
beginning. 

1913 

Laws,  1913,  Chapter  266,  p.  405.  Intermarriage,  or  illicit  cohabita 
tion,  is  forbidden  between  a  person  belonging  to  the  Caucasian  or 
White  Race,  and  a  person  belonging  to  the  African,  Corean,  Malay 
an,  or  Mongolian  race. 


1 82  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

Violation  of  this  provision  shall  be  a  felony,  punishable  by  a  fine 
not  exceeding  $1,000,  or  by  imprisonment  in  state  prison  not  over 
ten  years,  or  by  both. 

Section  2.  No  license  shall  be  issued  for  any  such  marriage. 
Violation  of  this  provision  shall  be  a  misdemeanor. 

Section  j.  Such  a  marriage  shall  be  null  and  void  from  the 
beginning. 


Tennessee 
1865-1866 

Laws,  186^-1866,  Chapter  40.  All  free  persons  of  color  living  to 
gether  as  husband  and  wife  in  this  state,  while  in  a  state  of  slavery, 
are  declared  hereby  to  be  man  and  wife,  and  the  children  are  legiti 
mate  to  as  full  extent  as  children  of  white  citizens. 

Laws,  186^-1866,  Chapter  59.  Administrators  of  free  persons  of 
color,  deceased,  leaving  children  that  were  slaves,  are  authorized  to 
pay  the  estate  to  the  children  or  heirs.  Property  of  free  persons  of 
color  or  slaves  shall  be  distributed  agreeable  to  the  laws  of  descent 
and  distribution  provided  for  free  persons. 

Laws,  1865-1866,  p.  65.  Separate  schools  are  required  for  white  and 
for  negro  children. 

1868-1869 

Laws,  1868-1869,  Chapter  12.  Section  ij.  No  citizen  of  the  state 
shall  be  excluded  from  the  privileges  of  the  University  of  Tennesee 
by  reason  of  his  race  or  color;  but  the  accommodation  and  instruc 
tion  of  persons  of  color  shall  be  separate  from  those  for  white 
persons. 

1870 

Constitution,  1870,  Article  IV.  Section  I.  Removes  the  limitation  of 
the  franchise  to  white  persons. 

Constitution,  1870,  Article  XL  Section  14.  Intermarriage  is  pro 
hibited  between  white  persons  and  negroes,  or  descendants  of  negro 
ancestors  to  the  third  generation.  The  legislature  shall  enforce 
this  by  appropriate  legislation. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  183 

Laws,  1870,  Second  Session,  Chapter  39.  Intermarriage  of  white  per 
sons  with  negroes,  mulattoes  or  persons  of  mixed  blood,  descended 
from  a  negro  to  third  generation,  inclusive,  or  their  living  together 
as  man  and  wife,  is  prohibited.  Such  marriage  is  null  and  void  and  a 
felony,  punishable  by  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  from  one  to 
five  years.  The  court  may  on  recommendation  of  a  jury,  substitute 
fine  and  imprisonment  in  the  county  jail.  (See  Compiled  Laws, 
1821,  Intermarriage  prohibition;  also  Code,  1884,  Sections  3291- 
3292,  and  Code,  1896,  Sections  4186-4187.) 

Laws,  1870,  Second  Session,  Chapter  64.  Section  40.  The  schools  for 
white  children  and  for  colored  children  shall  be  kept  separate  and 
apart  from  each  other,  and  the  School  Commissioners  for  each 
District  shall  strictly  observe  this  requirement. 

Constitution,  Article  XI.  Section  12.  Separate  schools  are  required 
for  white  children  and  negro  children.  No  school  established  or 
aided  under  this  section  shall  allow  both  races  to  be  received  in  the 
same  school. 

1873 

Laws,  1873,  p.  46.  White  and  colored  persons  shall  not  be  taught  in 
the  same  school,  but  in  separate  schools  under  the  same  general 
regulations  as  to  management,  usefulness  and  efficiency. 

1875 

Laws,  1875,  p.  216.  The  rule  of  common  law  giving  a  right  of 
action  to  any  person  excluded  from  any  hotel,  or  public  means  of 
transportation,  or  place  of  amusement,  is  hereby  abrogated;  and 
hereafter  no  keeper  of  any  hotel  or  carrier  of  passengers  for  hire 
shall  be  bound  or  under  any  obligation  to  entertain,  carry,  or 
admit  any  person,  whom  he  shall  for  any  reason  whatever  choose 
not  to  entertain,  carry  or  admit,  nor  shall  any  right  exist  in  favor 
of  any  such  person  so  refused,  but  the  right  of  such  keepers  of 
hotels,  carriers  of  passengers,  and  keepers  of  places  of  amusement  to 
control  the  access  or  exclusion  of  persons  shall  be  as  perfect  and 
complete  as  that  of  any  private  person  over  his  private  house.  A 
right  of  action  is  given  to  any  keeper  of  a  hotel,  common  carrier 
and  restaurant  against  any  person  guilty  of  turbulent  conduct 
within  or  about  the  same;  such  person  may  be  fined  not  less  than 


184  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

$100  and  is  liable  to  a  forfeiture  of  $500;  and  the  owner,  or  the  per 
son  so  offended,  may  sue  in  his  own  name  for  such  forfeiture. 

I88l 

Laws,  1 88 1,  Chapter  IOQ.  Section  j.  The  terms  of  admission  for 
colored  students  given  separate  accommodations  in  schools  shall  be 
same  as  the  terms  prescribed  for  white  students. 

Laws,  1 88 1,  p.  139.  Suitable  but  separate  accommodations  for  col 
ored  students  required,  in  the  school  for  the  blind  at  Nashville.  An 
appropriation  of  $2,500  made  for  this  purpose.  The  terms  of  admis 
sion  for  colored  students  must  be  the  same  as  for  white  students. 
Laws,  1881,  p.  210.  The  State  Board  of  Education  was  authorized  to 
provide  for  the  higher  or  the  normal  education  of  children  of  African 
descent. 

Laws,  1 88 1,  p.  211.  Whereas  it  is  the  practice  of  railroad  companies 
to  charge  and  collect  from  colored  passengers  first-class  fare,  and 
to  compel  said  passengers  to  occupy  second-class  cars  where  smok 
ing  is  allowed  and  no  restrictions  enforced  to  prevent  vulgar  or 
obscene  language;  therefore 

All  railroad  companies  shall  furnish  separate  cars,  or  portions 
of  cars  cut  off  by  partition  walls,  which  all  colored  passengers  who 
pay  first-class  rates  of  fare  may  have  the  privilege  to  enter  and 
occupy. 

The  separate  cars  or  apartments  shall  be  kept  in  good  repair, 
with  the  same  conveniences,  and  subject  to  the  same  rules  governing 
other  first-class  cars  for  preventing  smoking  and  obscene  language. 

In  case  of  failure  to  enforce  the  provisions  of  this  law,  the  com 
pany  shall  pay  a  forfeit  of  $100,  half  to  be  paid  to  the  person  suing, 
the  other  half  to  be  paid  to  the  common  school  fund  of  the  state. 

Laws,  1881,  First  Extra  Session,  p.  7.  Same  as  Laws,  1881,  p.  210, 
with  minor  changes. 

1882 

Laws,  1882,  Third  Extra  Session,  p.  12.  All  persons  paying  first-class 
passenger  rates  are  entitled  to  occupy  first-class  passenger  cars. 
Railroads  must  furnish  them  such  accommodations,  under  penalty 
of  a  fine  of  $300  payable  to  the  common  school  fund.  The  laws  of 
1 88 1,  p.  211,  are  amended  to  be  in  conformity  with  this  act. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  185 

1884 

Code,  1844.  Section  2367.  If  a  company  shall  fail  to  enforce  this  law 
(as  preceding),  it  shall  pay  $300,  one-half  to  go  to  the  person  ag 
grieved,  the  other  half  to  go  to  the  common  school  fund,  to  be 
recovered  at  the  suit  of  the  person  aggrieved,  or  of  the  superinten 
dent  of  public  instruction  of  the  county  where  the  offense  is  com 
mitted. 

1885 

Laws,  1885,  p.  124.  It  is  unlawful  for  owners,  etc.,  of  any  places  of 
public  resort  where  a  fee  is  charged  for  entrance  to  refuse  admission 
to  any  person  on  account  of  the  fact  that  such  persons  travel  over 
a  particular  route,  railway,  etc.,  or  in  vehicles,  carriages,  etc.,  of  any 
person  or  corporation  rather  than  another.  Nothing  herein  shall  be 
construed  as  interfering  with  existing  rights  to  provide  separate  ac 
commodations  and  seats  for  colored  and  white  persons  at  such 
places. 

Laws,  1885,  Extra  Session,  Chapter  19.  Authorizing  high-graded 
common  schools.  Nothing  herein  shall  be  construed  so  as  to  allow 
mixed  schools  of  white  and  colored  population,  but  such  schools 
shall  be  taught  separately  as  now  provided. 

1891 

Laws,  i8gi,  Chapter  52.  Railroads  other  than  street  railroads  shall 
provide  equal  but  separate  accommodations  for  the  white  and 
colored  races  by  means  of  two  or  more  passenger  cars  or  by  dividing 
passenger  cars  by  a  partition.  It  shall  be  permitted  to  take  a 
nurse  of  another  race  in  the  car  or  compartment  set  aside  for  a 
different  race.  The  act  shall  not  apply  to  mixed  and  freight  trains 
carrying  only  one  passenger  or  combination  passenger  and  baggage 
car.  In  such  cases  the  one  passenger  car  shall  be  partitioned  into 
compartments.  Conductors  are  required  to  assign  passengers  to 
their  proper  places. 

Any  railroad  company  refusing  to  comply  with  this  act  is  guilty 
of  a  misdemeanor  and  may  be  fined  from  $100  to  $500.  Any  con 
ductor  not  carrying  out  the  provisions  of  this  act  may  be  fined  from 
$25  to  $50. 


1 86  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

IQOI 

Laws,  ipoi,  p.  p.  It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  school,  college  or  place 
of  learning  to  allow  white  and  colored  persons  to  attend  the  same 
school. 

Section  2.  It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  teacher,  professor  or  edu 
cator  to  allow  the  white  and  colored  races  to  attend  the  same  school, 
or  for  any  teacher  or  other  person  to  instruct  or  teach  both  the 
white  and  colored  races  in  the  same  class,  school,  or  college  building, 
or  in  any  other  place  or  places  of  learning,  or  allow  or  permit  the 
same  to  be  done. 

Section  j.  Violation  of  this  act  or  its  provisions  may  be  punished 
by  a  $50  fine,  or  imprisonment  not  less  than  thirty  days  or  more 
than  six  months,  or  both. 

Section  4.  Grand  juries  shall  have  inquisitorial  powers  over  all 
violations  of  this  act. 

1903 

Laws,  1903,  p.  75.  Chapter  52  of  Acts  of  1891  is  amended  to  include 
all  street  railroads  in  any  county  in  the  state  having  150,000  inhabi 
tants  or  over,  as  shown  by  the  Federal  census  of  1900  or  any  subse 
quent  Federal  census.  (Memphis  was  the  only  one  in  1903.) 

1905 

Acts,  1905,  p.  321.  All  street  car  lines  must  set  apart  or  designate  in 
each  car  a  portion  or  certain  seats  for  white  passengers  and  also  for 
colored  passengers.  Appropriate  signs  of  designation  must  be  posted. 
The  conductor  may  change  the  designation  when  necessary  in  his 
judgment.  An  exception  is  made  of  nurses  with  children  or  with 
helpless  persons  of  the  other  race.  A  refusal  on  the  part  of  a  street 
railroad  company  to  provide  separate  parts  of  cars,  as  required,  is 
punishable  by  a  fine  of  $25  for  each  offense.  Any  passenger  who 
refuses  to  take  the  proper  seat  is  punishable  by  a  fine  of  $25.  Special 
cars  may  be  run  for  one  race  exclusively. 


Texas 
1866 

Constitution,  1866,  Article   VIII.     Section  I.     Africans  and  their 
descendants  shall  be  protected  in  their  rights  of  person  and  property 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  187 

by  appropriate  legislation.  They  shall  have  the  right  to  contract 
and  be  contracted  with;  to  sue  and  be  sued,  etc. 
Constitution,  1866,  Article  VIII.  Section  2.  Africans  shall  not  be 
prohibited  on  account  of  race  or  color  from  testifying  as  witnesses 
in  any  case,  civil  or  criminal,  involving  injury  to  or  crime  against 
them  in  person  or  property. 

Constitution,  1866,  Article  X.  Section  7.  All  the  taxes  from  Afri 
cans  shall  go  to  maintaining  African  schools;  and  it  is  the  duty  of 
the  legislature  to  encourage  colored  schools.  (Repealed  by  omis 
sion  from  the  next  Constitution,  in  1876.) 

Laws,  1866,  p.  59.  Negroes  shall  not  testify  except  when  the  prosecu 
tion  is  against  a  negro,  or  when  the  alleged  offense  is  against  the 
person  or  property  of  a  negro. 

Laws,  1866,  p.  97.  Every  railroad  company  shall  attach  to  pas 
senger  trains  one  car  for  the  special  accommodation  of  freedmen. 
(Repealed  in  1871.) 

Laws,  1866,  p.  13 1.  All  persons  heretofore  known  as  slaves  or  free 
persons  of  color,  shall  have  the  right  to  make  and  enforce  contracts, 
sue  and  be  sued,  inherit,  lease,  hold,  sell,  and  convey,  etc.;  and 
there  shall  be  no  discrimination  in  the  criminal  laws  of  the  state. 
All  prior  contrary  laws  are  repealed. 

1869 

Constitution,  1869,  Article  12.  Section  27.  (Annotated  Statutes, 
1908,  Sections  2616  and  2619.)  All  persons  are  legally  married, 
who  lived  as  husband  and  wife  in  slavery,  and  continued  after 
emancipation  to  live  together  till  the  death  of  one,  or  till  the  adop 
tion  of  this  Constitution. 

Constitution,  1869,  Article  III.  Section  i.  Removed  the  limitation  of 
suffrage  to  white  persons. 

1870 

Acts,  1870,  p.  127.  Slaves  living  as  man  and  wife  until  the  death  of 
one  party,  shall  be  considered  married  and  their  issue  legitimate. 

1871 

Laws,  1871,  Second  Session,  p.  16.  The  equality  of  all  persons  before 
the  law  is  recognized  and  shall  ever  remain  inviolate,  nor  shall  any 


1  88  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

citizen  ever  be  deprived  of  any  right,  privilege  or  immunity,  nor  be 
exempted  from  any  burdens  or  duty  on  account  of  race,  color  or 
previous  condition  of  servitude. 

Public  carriers  are  prohibited  from  making  any  distinctions  in  the 
carrying  of  passengers.  Such  act  is  a  misdemeanor  punishable  by  a 
fine  of  from  $100  to  $500  or  imprisonment  from  thirty  to  ninety 
days,  or  both.  (Repeals  Laws,  1866,  p.  97.) 

Laws,  1871,  p.  1  08.  There  shall  be  no  exclusion  of  any  negro  witness 
on  account  of  color. 

1876 

Constitution,  1876,  Article  7.    Section  7.    Separate  schools  with  equal 
accommodation  for  white  and  colored  children  shall  be  provided. 
Laws,  1876,  p.  44.     No  school  receiving  white  and  colored  pupils 
shall  receive  any  of  the  public  school  fund. 

Laws,  1876,  p.  136.  An  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  for  col 
ored  youths  is  established  under  supervision  of  the  Board  of  Direc 
tors  of  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  in  Brazos  County. 
Laws,  1876,  Chapter  CXX,  p.  201.  An  act  to  establish  the  Public 
Free  Schools.  Section  15.  A  school  fund  is  provided  for  the  edu 
cation  alike  of  white  and  colored  children.  It  shall  be  divided  pro 
rata,  according  to  the  number  of  children  of  each  race. 

Section  IQ.  All  children  from  eight  to  fourteen  years  of  age  are 
entitled  to  the  benefit  of  the  free  school  fund  without  regard  to  race 
or  color. 

Section  5J.  A  schoolhouse  built  in  part  by  voluntary  subscrip 
tions  by  colored  people  for  a  colored  school,  shall  not  be  used  with 
out  their  consent  for  white  children;  and  the  reverse. 

Section  54.  No  school  partly  of  white  and  partly  of  colored  chil 
dren  shall  receive  aid  from  the  school  fund,  but  the  two  races  shall 
always  be  taught  in  separate  public  free  schools. 


Ex  parte  Francois,  Federal  Case  No.  5047.  Held  that  the  difference 
of  punishment  in  the  law  of  1858  against  intermarriage  was  uncon 
stitutional;  but  that  the  provision  against  intermarriage  was  con 
stitutional.  (See  Laws,  1858,  p.  164,  prohibiting  intermarriage  and 
imposing  different  penalties  on  the  white  and  black  parties.) 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  189 

Revised  Statutes,  1879,  Chapter  /,  Article  2843.  Intermarriage  law 
repeated.  Penalty  applied  equally  to  both  parties.  (See  Pen.  C., 
1915,  X,  I,  Article  365.) 

1884 

Laws,  1884,  p.  40.  The  same  as  the  separate  school  provision  of 
Laws  of  1876,  adding  only  a  definition  of  the  colored  race  and  col 
ored  children,  as  being  all  persons  of  mixed  blood,  descended  from 
negro  ancestry  to  the  third  generation  inclusive,  although  one 
ancestor  of  each  generation  may  have  been  a  white  person. 

1889 

Laws,  1889,  p.  JJ2.  Railroad  companies  shall  maintain  separate 
coaches  for  the  white  and  the  colored  races.  They  shall  be  equal  as  to 
comfort.  They  shall  be  designated  by  words  or  letters,  showing  the 
race  for  whom  intended.  A  compartment  separated  by  a  substan 
tial  partition  with  a  door  shall  be  sufficient.  One  part  shall  be  ex 
clusively  for  the  colored  race.  Any  passenger  insisting  on  riding  in 
an  improper  car  or  apartment  is  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  shall 
be  punished  by  fine  not  less  than  $5  or  more  than  $20.  Railroads 
shall  have  the  right  to  regulate  travel  on  all  other  coaches  except 
the  two  coaches,  or  the  double  coach,  set  apart  for  the  two  races. 
(The  legislature  suspended  the  rule  requiring  three  consecutive 
days'  reading  of  the  bill,  on  account  of  approach  of  close  of  session.) 

1891 

Laws,  1891,  p.  44.  Separate  coach  law  strengthened.  Every  rail 
road,  lessee,  manager  or  receiver  thereof,  doing  business  as  common 
carriers  for  hire,  shall  provide  separate  coaches  for  white  and  negro 
passengers,  which  separate  coaches  shall  be  equal  in  all  points  of 
comfort  and  convenience.  A  substantial  partition  with  a  door  shall 
be  sufficient.  They  shall  be  designated  by  the  name  of  the  race 
posted  in  a  conspicuous  place  in  each  compartment  in  plain  letters. 
The  law  shall  be  posted  in  each  coach  and  depot.  Trains  may  carry 
chair  cars  or  sleeping  cars  for  the  exclusive  use  of  either  race. 

An  exception  to  the  provisions  of  the  law  is  made  for  street  railway 
cars.  Also  for  nurses  with  employers,  employees  of  a  railroad  in  dis 
charge  of  duties,  freight  trains  carrying  passengers  in  the  caboose, 
and  excursion  trains  run  for  the  exclusive  benefit  of  one  race. 


190  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

The  conductor  has  authority  to  enforce  the  law.  His  wilful 
failure  is  a  misdemeanor  punishable  by  a  fine  from  $5  to  $25.  The 
company  refusing  to  provide  separate  accommodations  may  be 
fined  from  $100  to  $1,000  for  each  trip.  A  passenger  refusing  to 
occupy  the  coash  assigned  may  be  fined  from  $5  to  $25.  (Three 
days'  reading  suspended,  for  emergency.) 

Laws,  1891,  p.  165.  Same  as  preceding  separate  coach  law,  adding 
only  the  words  "suburban  railway  cars,"  to  the  list  of  exceptions 
to  the  act. 

1893 

Laws,  1893,  p.  198.  (Three  white  trustees  shall  have  charge  of 
white  schools.)  Three  colored  trustees  shall  be  elected  or  appointed, 
upon  application  of  ten  colored  residents  of  any  district,  who  shall 
manage  the  colored  schools,  under  the  direction  of  the  white  trustees 
of  the  district.  (Separate  school  law  repeated.) 

1895 

Laws,  1895,  p.  29.  School  law  of  1893,  p.  198  amended.  The  three 
colored  trustees  become  of  full  authority  over  colored  schools,  and 
are  given  sole  charge.  The  three  white  and  three  colored  trustees 
shall  divide  the  school  funds. 

1897 

Sayles  Civil  Statutes,  1897,  Volume  I,  Article  2959.  Intermarriage 
law.  Persons  of  Caucasian  blood  or  their  descendants  are  forbidden 
to  intermarry  with  persons  of  African  blood  or  their  descendants. 
Such  marriage  shall  be  void. 

Sayles  Civil  Statutes,  1897,  Article  4510.  The  term  negro  includes 
every  person  of  African  descent. 

Sayles,  1897,  Article  3885-3890.  A  normal  school  for  colored 
teachers.  One  student  not  less  than  sixteen  years  old  shall  be 
admitted  from  the  colored  population  of  each  senatorial  district  and 
three  from  the  state  at  large.  Students  are  bound  to  teach  three 
years  in  the  colored  public  schools  of  the  state.  They  shall  receive 
the  same  compensation  as  other  teachers  of  public  schools. 

1905 

Laws,  1905,  p.  263.  School  Act,  Section  96.  The  colored  race  and 
colored  children  are  defined  as  "all  persons  of  mixed  blood,  from 


Slate  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  191 

negro  ancestry."  Section  130.  Impartial  provision  for  both  races, 
and  like  education,  shall  be  maintained. 

1907 

Laws,  1907,  p.  $8.  Separate  Coach  Law.  (Includes  street-car  com 
panies.)  Every  railway  company,  street-car  company  and  inter- 
urban  railway  company,  lessee,  manager,  or  receiver  thereof,  shall 
provide  separate  coaches  or  compartments  for  the  accommodation 
of  white  and  negro  passengers,  equal  in  all  points  of  comfort  and 
convenience.  A  good  and  substantial  wooden  partition  with  a  door 
therein  is  sufficient,  with  words  in  plain  letters  indicating  the  race 
intended  for.  Each  compartment  of  a  street  car  or  interurban  car 
shall  be  divided  by  a  board  or  marker  placed  in  a  conspicuous 
place,  bearing  appropriate  words  in  plain  letters  indicating  which 
race  it  is  for. 

Any  railway  company,  street-car  company  or  interurban  com 
pany  failing  to  provide  separate  coaches  or  compartments  shall  be 
fined  from  $100  to  $1,000,  each  trip  being  a  separate  offense.  A 
passenger  wrongfully  riding  in  an  improper  coach  or  compartment 
shall  be  guilty  of  misdemeanor,  and  fined  from  $5  to  $25. 

Exception  is  made  of  nurses  with  their  employers,  employees  upon 
a  train  or  cars  in  discharge  of  duty,  freight  trains  carrying  passengers 
in  cabooses,  and  any  excursion  train,  street  car,  or  interurban  car 
as  such,  for  the  benefit  of  either  race.  Companies  may  haul  sleep 
ing,  dining,  cafe,  or  chair-cars  to  be  used  exclusively  by  either  white 
or  negro  passengers,  separately  but  not  jointly.  This  law  shall  be 
posted  in  a  conspicuous  place  in  each  depot  and  coach. 
Laws,  1907,  p.  IQJ.  No  white  children  can  be  adopted  by  a  negro 
person,  nor  a  negro  child  by  a  white  person. 

1909 

Laws,  1909,  Second  Special  Session,  p.  401.  Separate  apartments 
shall  be  provided  in  all  depot  buildings  for  the  use  of  white  and  of 
negro  passengers. 

1913 

Laws,  1913,  Special  Session,  p.  7.  Texas  Training  School  for  boys 
under  seventeen.  White  boys  shall  be  kept,  worked,  and  educated 
entirely  separate  from  boys  of  other  races,  and  kept  apart  in  all 
respects. 


192  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

1914 

Vernon's  Sayles  Civil  Statutes,  1914,  Article  4553a.  Sanitary  Code 
for  Texas.  Rule  64.  There  shall  be  separate  compartments  and 
bedding,  separate  from  white  passengers,  for  negro  porters  in  sleep 
ing  cars.  Rule  65.  Negro  porters  shall  not  sleep  in  sleeping  car 
berths  nor  use  bedding  intended  for  white  passengers. 

1915 

Penal  Code,  1915,  Title  X,  Chapter  I,  Article  346.  Penalty  for  inter 
marriage  is  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  from  two  to  five  years. 


Utah 

1888 

Laws,  1888,  p.  88.  Intermarriage  is  prohibited.  (Original  Law) : 
Section  i,  Marriage  is  prohibited  and  declared  void,  between  a  negro 
and  a  white  person,  and  between  a  Mongolian  and  a  white  person. 

1895 

Constitution,  1895,  Article  III.  Section  4.  Public  schools  shall  be 
open  to  all  the  children  of  the  state. 

1907 

Laws,  1907,  p.  32.  Marriage  laws  amended.  Intermarriage  pro 
vision  the  same. 

Vermont 

1858 

Laws,  1858,  Chapter  37.  Section  5.  African  descent  shall  not  dis 
qualify  from  citizenship  of  the  state. 


Virginia 
1865 

Laws,  1865-1866,  p.  85.  Where  colored  persons  prior  to  February 
27,  1866,  agreed  to  occupy  to  each  other  the  relation  of  husband 
and  wife  and  were  cohabiting  as  such  at  that  date  whether  or  not 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  193 

any  ceremony  had  been  performed,  they  shall  be  deemed  husband 
and  wife  and  their  children  legitimate,  and  when  they  ceased  to 
cohabit  before  that  date  the  children  of  the  woman  recognized  by 
the  man  as  his,  shall  be  deemed  legitimate.  (1904  Code,  p.  1,115, 
Section  2228.) 

Laws,  1865—1866,  p.  84.  Every  person  having  one-quarter  or  more 
of  negro  blood,  shall  be  deemed  a  colored  person,  and  every  person 
not  a  colored  person  having  one-quarter  or  more  of  Indian  blood, 
shall  be  deemed  an  Indian. 

Laws,  186^-1866,  p.  89.  Negroes  and  Indians  may  testify  when  a 
negro  or  an  Indian  is  a  party  to  the  action. 

1867 

Laws,  1866-1867,  P-  86°-  Negroes  may  testify  as  if  they  were  white. 
(Repeals  Laws,  1865-1866,  p.  89.) 

Constitution,  1867,  Article  III.  Section  I.  Male  citizens  are  given 
the  vote,  removing  limitation  to  white  males. 

1869-1870 

Laws,  1869-1870,  p.  413.  White  and  colored  persons  shall  not 
be  taught  in  the  same  school,  but  in  separate  schools,  under  the 
same  general  regulations  as  to  management,  usefulness  and  effi 
ciency.  (See  Laws,  1845-1846,  p.  36.) 

1870-1871 

Laws,  1870-1871,  p.  50.  All  male  citizens  from  twenty-one  to 
sixty  who  are  entitled  to  vote  and  hold  office,  etc.,  shall  be  liable 
to  serve  as  jurors,  etc.  (Reverses  a  law  of  1852-1853,  p.  43,  ex 
cluding  negroes.) 

1871-1872 

Laws,  1871-1872,  p.  71.  The  state  board  of  health  shall  keep  a 
record  of  the  causes  of  mortality  among  the  colored  population. 

1872-1873 

Laws,  1872-1873^.243.  Gifts  for  purposes  of  the  education  of  white 
persons,  or  likewise  of  colored  persons,  are  valid. 


194  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

1873 

Code,  1873,  p.  1,208.  Any  white  person  who  shall  intermarry  with 
a  negro  shall  be  confined  in  jail  not  less  than  one  year,  and  fined  not 
less  than  $100.  Performing  such  a  ceremony  is  punishable  by  a 
fine  of  $200,  of  which  one-half  shall  go  to  the  informer  (no  penalty 
on  negro).  (See  Code  1816,  p.  401,  and  Code  1849,  p.  471.) 

1877-1878 

Laws,  18^7-18^8,  p.  28.  Any  person  conspiring  with  another  to 
incite  the  colored  population  of  the  state  to  make  insurrection  against 
the  white  population,  or  to  incite  the  white  population  against  the 
colored  population,  is  liable  to  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  from 
five  to  ten  years. 

Laws,  1877-1878,  p.  302.  If  any  white  person  intermarry  with  a 
colored  person,  he  shall  be  confined  in  the  penitentiary  not  less 
than  two  or  more  than  five  years.  If  any  person  performs  a  mar 
riage  ceremony  between  white  and  colored  persons  he  shall  forfeit 
$200,  of  which  the  informer  shall  have  half.  Such  marriages  are 
absolutely  void. 

White  and  colored  persons  going  out  of  the  state  to  marry,  shall 
be  punished  as  if  married  in  the  state.  (1910  Code,  p.  1,119,  Sec 
tion  2253.) 

1882 

Laws,  1881-1882,  p.  37.  White  and  colored  persons  shall  not  be 
taught  in  the  same  school,  but  in  separate  schools  under  the  same 
general  regulations  as  to  management,  usefullness  and  efficiency. 
The  determination  as  to  who  is  a  colored  person  lies  with  the  board. 

1896 

Acts,  1895-1896,  p.  352.  Separation  in  schools,  provision  repeated. 
(See  law  of  1882.) 

IQOO 

Acts,   1899-1900,  p.  jo i.     Regulations  for  the  government  of  a 

negro  reformatory  association  to  conduct  reformatories  for  negro 

youth. 

Acts,  1890-1900,  p.  236.    Railroads  operating  cars  by  steam  on  any 

railroad  line,  and  all  railroads  doing  business  within  this  state,  upon 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  195 

lines  owned  in  part  or  in  whole,  or  leased,  and  all  foreign  corpora 
tions  wrho  may  be  now,  or  may  hereafter  be,  engaged  in  operating 
any  of  the  railroads  of  this  state,  either  in  part  or  whole,  either  in 
their  own  name  or  that  of  others,  are  required  to  furnish  separate 
cars  for  the  transportation  of  white  and  colored  passengers.  Each 
compartment  of  a  coach  divided  by  a  good  and  substantial  parti 
tion  with  a  door  therein,  shall  be  deemed  a  separate  coach.  In  a 
conspicuous  place,  there  shall  be  placed  appropriate  words  in  plain 
letters,  indicating  the  race  for  which  the  compartment  is  intended. 
No  difference  or  discrimination  in  quality,  convenience  or  accom 
modation  shall  be  made.  Railroads  neglecting  to  enforce  this  act 
are  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  may  be  fined  from  $300  to  $1,000 
for  each  offense. 

Conductors,  etc.,  are  required  to  assign  to  each  white  or  colored 
passenger  his  or  her  respective  car,  coach  or  compartment,  "the  con 
ductors  or  managers  acting  in  good  faith,  being  for  the  purposes  of 
this  act  the  judge  of  the  race  of  each  passenger,  and  such  passenger 
has  refused  to  disclose  his  race."  Any  passenger  may  be  put  off  a 
train  if  he  refuses  to  occupy  his  assigned  place.  Conductors  shall 
not  be  liable  in  damages  therefor.  A  conductor  failing  to  carry  out 
the  provisions  of  this  act  is  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  with  $25  to  $50 
fine  for  each  offense.  If  the  compartment  or  coach  is  completely 
filled  and  the  increased  number  of  passengers  could  not  be  foreseen, 
where  no  extra  coaches  or  cars  can  be  had,  the  conductor  is  author 
ized  to  set  apart  a  portion  assigned  to  passengers  of  one  race  to  pas 
sengers  of  another  race. 

The  act  shall  not  apply  to  employees  on  railroads,  or  nurses,  or  an 
officer  in  charge  of  prisoners,  or  lunatics,  white,  colored,  or  both,  or 
to  prisoners  or  lunatics  in  his  custody,  or  to  transportation  of  passen 
gers  in  a  caboose  car  on  freight  trains,  or  to  Pullman  cars,  or  to 
through  or  express  trains  that  do  no  local  business.  Circuit  courts  of 
counties  and  corporation  courts  of  cities  have  jurisdiction  of  offenses 
under  these  sections. 

Acts,  1899-1900,  p.  340.  1294$,  Section  I.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
captain  and  other  officers  of  steamboats  to  assign  white  and  colored 
passengers  to  their  respective  locations  in  separate  sections.  White 
and  colored  passengers  shall  be  separate  on  all  steamboats  carrying 
passengers  within  the  state,  in  the  sitting,  eating,  and  sleeping  apart 
ments  as  far  as  the  construction  of  the  boat  and  due  consideration 


196  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

for  the  comfort  of  the  passengers  shall  permit.  There  shall  be  no 
discrimination  as  to  the  quality  of  accommodations.  The  act  shall 
not  apply  to  nurses  or  attendants  with  their  employers  nor  to  officers 
in  charge  of  prisoners  or  lunatics. 

Section  2.  Any  officer  of  a  steamboat  failing  to  carry  out  these 
provisions  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  subject  to  a  fine 
of  not  less  than  $25  nor  over  $100. 

Section  3.  Any  passenger  refusing  to  occupy  the  accommodations 
set  apart  for  his  race  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  fined  not 
less  than  $5  nor  more  than  $50,  or  confined  in  the  jail  not  less  than 
thirty  days,  or  both.  Such  passenger  may  be  ejected  at  any  land 
ing  place.  The  company  shall  not  be  liable  in  damages  therefor. 

IQOI 

Laws,  IQOI,  Extra  Session,  p.  329.  Same  as  1899-1900,  p.  340, 
leaving  out  the  words,  "as  far  as  the  construction  of  his  boat  and  due 
consideration  for  the  comfort  of  the  passengers  will  permit." 

Laws,  1901,  Extra  Session,  p.  212.  Separation  is  provided  for  on 
street  railway  cars  between  29th  and  P  Streets  in  the  city  of  Rich 
mond  and  Seven  Pines  in  the  County  of  Henrico. 

1901-1902 

Laws,  ipoi—ipO2,  p.  630.  Electric  cars  or  trains  within  Alexandria , 
or  from  Alexandria  to  any  point  in  the  County  of  Alexandria,  or  from 
Alexandria  to  any  point  in  the  County  of  Fairfax,  shall  have  separate 
coaches  or  compartments.  No  discrimination  between  accommo 
dations  for  races  is  allowed.  The  conductor  may  increase  or 
diminish  the  space  allotted  to  either  race. 

Passengers  failing  to  occupy  the  place  set  apart  for  their  race  are 
guilty  of  misdemeanor,  and  may  be  fined  from  $5  to  $25.  The  con 
ductor  is  authorized  to  eject  such  a  passenger.  No  fare  shall  be 
returned  in  such  a  case.  No  damages  shall  be  allowed  therefor 
against  the  company.  Conductors  and  employees  are  made  special 
policemen  for  the  enforcing  of  the  law. 

An  exception  to  the  provisions  of  law  is  made  for  employees  of  the 
company,  nurses  in  attendance  upon  the  other  race,  and  officers  in 
charge  of  prisoners. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  197 

1902 

Constitutional  Convention  Registration  Ordinance,  for  registration 
of  voters  prior  to  year  1904. 

Section  4.  Separate  books  of  registration  in  duplicate,  for  white 
and  colored  voters,  shall  be  kept  in  each  precinct. 

Constitution,  1902,  Article  9.  Section  140.  Mixed  schools  are  pro 
hibited.  White  and  colored  children  shall  not  be  taught  in  the  same 
school. 

1904 

Laws,  1904,  p.  129.  Any  corporation  operating  sleeping,  dining, 
palace,  or  compartment  cars  on  the  railroads  in  the  state,  is  em 
powered  to  reject  and  to  refuse  admittance  to  any  and  all  persons 
to  enter  into  and  ride  in  such  sleeping,  dining,  palace,  parlor,  chair, 
or  compartment  cars,  when  in  the  discretion  of  such  corporation, 
its  conductors,  agents  or  employees,  it  may  be  advisable  to  do  so. 
Code,  1904.  Section  13130,.  (The  State  Corporation  Commission.) 
Section  16.  The  commission  may  require  the  establishment  by 
transportation  companies  of  separate  waiting-rooms  at  all  stations, 
wharves,  or  landings  for  the  white  and  the  colored  races. 

Laws,  1904,  p.  2/j.  Owners  of  steamboat  wharves  shall  provide 
separate  and  non-communicating  rooms  for  the  white  and  the  col 
ored  races.  This  shall  not  apply  to  wharves  at  which  boats  arrive 
between  7  a.  m.  and  7  p.  m.  at  which  there  are  public  houses  open  for 
the  public  and  at  which  public  comfort  is  cared  for  while  waiting. 
Violation  of  the  act  is  a  misdemeanor  punishable  by  a  fine  of  from  $5 
to  $20  for  each  offense. 

1906 

Laws,  1906,  p.  12.  Section  I.  All  companies  operating  trains  or 
cars  by  electricity  are  authorized  to  separate  white  and  colored 
passengers  and  to  designate  in  each  car  a  portion  for  white  pas 
sengers  and  for  colored  passengers. 

Section  2.  No  discrimination  in  quality  shall  be  made.  In  cold 
weather  they  shall  reasonably  heat  the  several  compartments. 

Section  3.  The  conductor  may  increase  or  decrease  the  amount 
of  space  or  seats  set  aside  for  either  race,  or  may  require  any  pas- 


1 98  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

senger  to  change  his  seat  when  and  as  often  as  he  may  deem  nec 
essary  or  proper. 

Section  4.  Failure  to  occupy  the  seats  assigned  is  a  misdemeanor 
and  may  be  fined  from  $5  to  $25.  Such  passenger  may  be  ejected 
and  is  not  entitled  to  the  return  of  any  part  of  the  fare. 

Section  5.  Each  conductor  and  motorman  upon  the  cars  shall  be 
a  special  policeman  for  the  enforcement  of  this  act. 

Section  6.  Companies  and  employees  are  not  liable  in  damages 
for  any  lawful  act  in  enforcement  of  this  law. 

Section  7.    Employees,  nurses,  and  officers  in  charge  of  prisoners 
or  lunatics  are  excepted  from  the  provisions  of  the  act. 
Laws,  ipo6,  p.  92.     Amending  1906,  p.   12.     Previous  Section  I, 
adds  that  neglecting  to  comply  with  the  requirement  is  a  misde 
meanor,  with  $50  to  $250  fine  for  each  offense. 

Section  3.  Adds  "Provided  no  contiguous  seats  or  same  bench 
shall  be  occupied  by  white  and  colored  passengers  at  same  time 
(unless  and  until  all  of  the  other  seats  in  said  car  shall  be  occupied)." 
Also  adds  that  any  conductor  failing  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of 
this  section  is  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  with  $5  to  $25  fine  for  each 
offense. 

Section  5.  Strengthens  the  rights  of  conductors  and  motormen  as 
special  policemen  and  conservators  of  the  peace.  "And,  acting  in 
good  faith,  he  shall  be,  for  the  purpose  of  this  act,  the  judge  of  the 
race  of  each  passenger,  whenever  such  passenger  has  failed  to  dis 
close  his  or  her  race." 

1910 

Laws,  1910,  p.  581.  Every  person  having  one-sixteenth  or  more 
negro  blood  shall  be  deemed  a  colored  person.  Every  person  not  a 
colored  person  having  one-quarter  or  more  Indian  blood  shall  be 
deemed  an  Indian. 

1912 

Acts,  1912,  p.  330-332,  Chapter  157.  Whereas,  the  preservation  of 
the  public  morals,  public  health  and  public  order,  in  the  cities  and 
towns  of  this  commonwealth  is  endangered  by  the  residence  of 
white  and  colored  people  in  close  proximity  to  one  another;  therefore 
I.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  general  assembly  of  Virginia,  That  in 
the  cities  and  towns  of  this  commonwealth  where  this  act  shall  be 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  199 

adopted  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  Section  1 1  hereof,  the 
entire  area  within  the  respective  corporate  limits  thereof  shall,  by 
ordinance,  adopted  by  the  council  of  each  such  city  or  town,  be 
divided  into  districts,  the  boundaries  whereof  shall  be  plainly  desig 
nated  in  such  ordinance  and  which  shall  be  known  as  "Segregation 
districts." 

2.  That   no   such   district   shall   comprise   less   than   the   entire 
property  fronting  on  any  street  or  alley,  and  lying  between  any 
two  adjacent  streets  or  alleys,  or  between  any  street  and  an  alley 
next  adjacent  thereto. 

3.  That  the  council  of  each  such  city  or  town  shall  provide  for, 
and  have  prepared,  within  six  months  after  such  council  shall  have 
adopted  the  provisions  of  this  act,  a  map  showing  the  boundaries 
of  all  such  segregation  districts,  and  showing  the  number  of  white 
persons  and  colored  persons  residing  within  such  segregation  dis 
trict,  on  a  date  to  be  designated  in  such  ordinance  of  adoption,  but 
which  shall  be  within  sixty  days  of  the  passage  of  such  ordinance; 
and  such  map  shall  designate  as  a  white  district  each  district  where 
in  there  are,  on  the  date  so  designated,  more  residents  of  the  white 
race  than  there  are  residents  of  the  colored  race,  and  shall  designate 
as  a  colored  district  each  district  so  denned,  in  which  there  are  on 
the  said  date  as  many  or  more  residents  of  the  colored  race,  as  there 
are  residents  of  the  white  race. 

4.  That  after  twelve  months  from  the  passage  of  the  ordinances 
adopting  the  provisions  of  this  act,  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any 
colored  person,  not  then  residing  in  a  district  so  denned  and  desig 
nated  as  a  white  district,  or  who  is  not  a  member  of  a  family  then 
therein  residing,  to  move  into  and  occupy  as  a  residence  any  build 
ing  or  portion  thereof  in  such  white  district,  and  it  shall  be  unlaw 
ful,  after  the  expiration  of  said  period  of  twelve  months  from  the 
passage  of  the  ordinance  adopting  the  provisions  of  this  act,  for  any 
white  person  not  then  residing  in  a  district  so  defined  and  designated 
as  a  colored  district,  or  who  is  not  a  member  of  a  family  then  therein 
residing,  to  move  into  and  occupy  as  a  residence  any  building,  or 
portion  thereof,  in  such  colored  district. 

5.  That  any  person  occupying  any  room  as  a  sleeping  place  in 
any  district,  whether  as  a  dependent,  boarder  or  lodger,  shall  be 
classed  as  a  resident  of  such  district,  unless  it  appear  that  such 


2OO  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

occupation  was  merely  transitory  and  that  such  person  had  another 
fixed  place  of  abode. 

6.  That  the  said  map  shall  be  certified  by  the  clerk  of  the  council 
of  such  city  or  town,  and  shall  be  at  all  times  kept  open  to  inspec 
tion  by  the  public  in  the  office  of  such  clerk,  and  that  any  person 
considering  that  such  map  has  not  been  prepared  in  accordance 
with  the  provisions  of  this  act,  and  who  is  in  any  wise  prejudiced 
thereby,  shall,  within  sixty  days  of  the  completion  thereof,  or  within 
eight  months  from  the  adoption  of  the  provisions  of  this  act  by  such 
city  or  town,  notify  the  clerk  of  said  council  in  writing  of  the  par 
ticulars  of  the  error  claimed  to  have  occurred  in  the  preparation  of 
such  map,  and  such  person  may  thereafter  within  thirty  days  after 
giving  such  notice  move  the  corporation  court  of  such  city,  or  if 
there  be  no  such  court,  the  circuit  court  of  the  county  wherein  such 
city  or  town  is  situate,  or  the  judge  of  such  court  in  vacation,  to 
correct  the  error  complained  of,  and  the  said  court  or  the  judge 
thereof  in  vacation,  shall  investigate  the  facts  in  the  premises,  and 
order  such  corrections  of  such  map  as  may  be  necessary  to  make  the 
same  conform  to  the  provisions  of  this  act. 

7.  That  the  map  so  prepared  and  certified  and  corrected,  shall 
be  prima  facie  evidence  of  the  boundaries  and  racial  designation  of 
such  districts. 

8.  That  any  person  who,  after  the  expiration  of  twelve  months 
from  the  passage  of  the  ordinance  of  adoption,  shall  reside  in  any 
such  district,  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  this  act,  shall  be  guilty 
of  a  misdemeanor,  and  upon  conviction  thereof,  shall  be  fined  for 
the  first  week  of  such  prohibited  residence  not  less  than  $5  nor  more 
than  $50,  and  for  each  succeeding  day  of  such  residence  the  sum  of 

$2. 

9.  That  nothing  herein  contained  shall  preclude  persons  of  either 
race  employed  as  servants  by  persons  of  the  other  race  from  resid 
ing  upon  the  premises  of  which  such  employer  is  the  owner  or 
occupier. 

10.  That  nothing  herein  contained  shall  be  construed  or  operate 
to  prevent  any  person  who  on  the  date  on  which  this  act  shall  be 
adopted  in  any  city  or  town,  shall  have  acquired  a  legal  right  to 
occupy  as  a  resident  any  building,  or  portion  thereof  in  any  such 
district,  in  such  city  or  town,  whether  by  devise,  purchase,  lease 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  201 

or  other  contract,  and  who  shall  not,  on  the  date  which  this  act 
shall  be  so  adopted  have  actually  moved  into  such  premises,  from 
thereafter  moving  into  and  occupying  the  same. 

II.  That  this  act  shall  apply  only  to  the  cities  or  towns  which 
by  a  recorded  vote  of  a  majority  of  the  members  elected  to  the 
council  thereof,  or  if  there  be  two  branches  of  such  council  by  a 
recorded  vote  of  a  majority  of  the  members  elected  to  each  branch 
thereof,  shall  adopt  the  provisions  of  this  act  and  in  all  respects 
comply  with  the  requirements  hereof. 

1916 

Acts,  1916,  p.  60.  Amending  Acts  1912,  p.  330,  by  adding  "provided 
that  nothing  herein  shall  be  construed  to  take  away  from  any  city 
or  town  not  adopting  this  act,  any  power  or  authority  it  may  have 
to  pass  ordinances  regulating  the  segregating  of  the  residences  of 
white  and  colored  persons,  and  all  such  ordinances  heretofore  passed 
by  cities  and  towns  not  adopting  this  act  are  hereby  ratified  and 
confirmed,  to  the  same  extent  as  if  the  said  cities  and  towns  had  been 
specially  thereunto  authorized. 

Acts,  i QI 6,  p.  41.  An  act  as  to  negro  minors  committed  to  the  Negro 
Reformatory  Association,  and  providing  for  the  same  compensation 
to  be  paid  by  the  state  to  the  association  as  jailers  were  entitled  to, 
up  to  the  number  of  200  negro  minors. 


Washington 
1854-1855 

Laws,  1854-1855,  p.  jj.  Section  i.  All  marriages  heretofore  sol 
emnized  in  this  territory  where  one  of  the  parties  shall  be  a  white 
person  and  the  other  possessed  of  one-quarter  or  more  negro  blood, 
or  more  than  one-half  Indian  blood  shall  be  void. 

Section  2.  Any  judge  or  clergyman  solemnizing  such  marriage 
may  be  fined  from  $50  to  $500,  the  money  to  be  for  the  use  of  the 
common  schools. 

Section  j.  Nothing  shall  be  construed  to  prevent  parties  from 
being  united  in  marriage  who  may  be  living  together  at  the  time  of 
passage  of  this  act. 


2O2  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

1865-1866 

Laws,  1865-1866,  p.  81.  Section  2,  Clause  j.  Where  either  of  the 
parties  is  a  white  person  and  the  other  a  negro  or  Indian,  or  a  person 
of  half  or  more  negro  or  Indian  blood,  any  marriage  shall  be  pro 
hibited.  (Approved  January  20,  1866.) 

1866 

Laws,  1866,  p.  91.  No  one  shall  be  incompetent  as  a  witness  by  reason 
of  having  negro  blood. 

1867-1868 

Laws,  1867-1868,  p.  47.  Be  it  enacted,  That  the  third  clause  of 
Section  2  of  an  act  entitled  "An  act  to  regulate  marriages,  approved 
January  20,  1866,"  be  stricken  out. 

1889-1890 

Laws,  1889-1890,  p.  524.  Civil  Rights  Act.  It  includes  the  enjoy 
ment  of  "inns,  public  conveyances  on  land  or  water,  theaters,  and 
other  places  of  public  amusement,  and  restaurants,  subject  only  to 
conditions  and  limitations  established  by  law  and  applicable  alike 
to  all  citizens  of  whatever  race,  color,  or  nationality." 

Section  2.  Violation  of  the  law  is  a  misdemeanor  punishable  by 
from  $50  to  $300  fine,  or  from  thirty  days  to  six  months'  impris 
onment. 

1895 

Laws,  1895,  p.  192.  Civil  Rights  Act  is  amended  to  read  as  follows: 
"Inns,  restaurants,  eating-houses,  barber  shops,  public  conveyances 
on  land  and  water,  theaters,  and  other  places  of  public  accommoda 
tion  and  amusement." 

1909 

Laws,  1909,  p.  1027.  Section  434.  (Civil  Rights  Law  further  en 
acted).  Every  person  who  shall  deny,  because  of  race,  creed,  or 
color,  the  full  enjoyment  of  any  of  the  accommodations  or  privi 
leges  of  any  place  of  public  resort,  accommodation,  assemblage,  or 
amusement,  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  203 

1910 

Code,  IQTO.  Section  2304.  Repeal.  "Note:  In  view  of  the  general 
nature  of  the  title  of  this  act  (1909,  p.  890)  a  doubt  exists  as  to  the 
schedule  of  acts  repealed.  Accordingly,  in  so  far  as  the  repealed 
acts  seem  not  in  conflict  with  other  provisions  of  this  act,  or  not 
clearly  embraced  in  the  title  of  this  act,  they  are  all  retained."  (In 
the  1910  Code.)  (This  includes,  among  many  other  sections,  Sec 
tion  2726  to  2762  inclusive,  covering  Civil  Rights,  Section  2761- 
2762). 

R.  and  B.'s  Code,  IQIO.  Section  2760.  All  persons  within  the  State 
of  Washington  are  entitled  to  the  full  and  equal  enjoyment  of  the 
public  accommodations  and  privileges  of  inns,  restaurants,  eating- 
houses,  barber  shops,  public  conveyances  on  land  or  water,  theaters, 
or  other  places  of  public  accommodation  and  amusement,  subject 
only  to  conditions  and  limitations  established  by  law  and  applicable 
alike  to  all  citizens. 

Section  2761.  Violation  of  this  act  or  aiding  or  inciting  such 
denial  is  a  misdemeanor,  punishable  by  a  fine  from  $50  to  $300,  or 
by  imprisonment  from  thirty  days  to  six  months. 

1912 

Pierce's  Code  has  only  the  Civil  Rights  Act  of  1909,  p.  1027, 
Section  434  as  Tit.  135,  Section  867  of  Code. 


West  Virginia 
1860 

Laws,  1860,  p.  $2Q.  All  marriages  between  a  white  person  and  a 
negro  are  void.  (Code,  Va.,  1860.) 

1863 

Constitution,  1861-1863,  Article  III.  Section  I.  The  franchise  is 
limited  to  whites. 

1865 

Laws,  1865,  p.  50.  There  shall  be  separate  schools  for  negroes, 
where  there  are  more  than  thirty  negro  children  in  a  school  district. 
If  the  average  daily  attendance  is  less  than  fifteen  for  a  month,  the 


204  State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

school  is  to  be  discontinued  for  any  period  not  exceeding  six  months. 
If  there  are  less  than  thirty  children  in  the  school  district,  or  the 
attendance  is  less  than  fifteen,  the  money  is  to  be  used  for  negro 
education  as  the  board  thinks  best. 

1866 

Laws,  1866,  p.  102.  All  marriages  heretofore  celebrated  between 
colored  persons,  if  in  good  faith,  and  both  were  living  together  as 
husband  and  wife  on  February  28,  1866,  shall  be  deemed  valid.  All 
persons  who  were  cohabiting  together,  whether  rites  had  been  per 
formed  or  not,  shall  be  deemed  husband  and  wife,  and  all  their 
children  shall  be  deemed  legitimate.  When  they  have  ceased  to 
cohabit,  all  the  children  of  the  woman,  recognized  by  the  man  to 
be  his,  shall  be  deemed  to  be  legitimate. 

Laws,  1866,  p.  8$.  No  person  shall  be  incompetent  as  a  witness  on 
account  of  race  or  color. 

1867 

Laws,  1867,  p.  44.  Slightly  modifies  the  Constitution  of  Virginia  as 
to  juries.  Limits  them  to  white  male  persons. 

1870 

Code,  1870,  p.  579.  Section  i.  All  white  male  persons  from  twenty- 
one  to  sixty  years  of  age,  are  liable  to  service  as  jurors. 

1872 

Constitution,  1872,  Article  XII,  Section  8.  White  and  colored  per 
sons  shall  not  be  taught  in  the  same  school. 

Laws,  1872-1873,  Chapter  47.  Section  j.  Only  white  persons  shall 
serve  as  jurors. 

Laws,  1872-1873,  Chapter  161.  All  laws  in  force  in  this  State  regu 
lating  marriages,  or  registration  of  births,  deaths,  and  marriages, 
shall  apply  to  colored  persons  the  same  as  to  white  persons,  but 
such  records  shall  be  kept  in  separate  books. 

Laws,  1872-1873,  p.  502.  Repeats  law  of  1866,  p.  102,  as  to  colored 
marriages. 

Laws,  1872-1873,  p.  391,  Chapter  123.  Section  17.  White  and  col 
ored  persons  shall  not  be  taught  in  the  same  school.  There  shall 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  205 

be  a  free  colored  school  where  there  are  twenty-five  or  more  col 
ored  children. 

Section  18.  When  in  a  district  the  benefit  of  a  free  school  is  not 
secured  to  colored  children,  the  fund  applicable  to  the  support  of 
free  schools  in  such  district  shall  be  divided  in  the  proportion  which 
the  number  of  colored  children  bear  to  the  number  of  white  children 
and  the  share  of  the  former  shall  be  set  apart  for  the  education  of  the 
colored  children  in  each  district  and  be  applied  for  that  purpose 
from  time  to  time. 

1881 

Laws,  1880,  Chapter  15.    An  act  providing  for  normal  training  for 

colored  teachers. 

Acts,  1881,  p.  ij6.     Separate  school  law  repeated.     The  required 

number  must  exceed  fifteen  negro  children  for  a  colored  school. 

1882 

Acts,  1882,  Chapter  123,  p.  349.  Intermarriage.  Any  white  person 
who  shall  marry  a  colored  person  shall  be  confined  in  jail  not  more 
than  one  year,  and  fined  not  exceeding  $100. 

Any  person  who  shall  knowingly  perform  the  marriage  ceremony 
between  a  white  person  and  a  negro  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor 
and  be  fined  not  exceeding  $200.     (Code,  1913,  Sec.  5311,  5312.) 
Acts,  1882,  p.  1 86.     All  male  persons  shall  be  liable  to  service  as 
jurors. 

1889 

Laws,  1889-1890,  p.  87.  If  colored  troops  are  organized,  they  shall 
be  enlisted  and  kept  separate  from  other  troops,  in  separate  com 
panies  and  regiments. 

Laws,  1889,  p.  15.  White  and  negro  inmates  of  the  reform  school 
for  boys  shall  be  kept  separate. 

1897 

Acts,  1807,  Chapter  8.  White  and  colored  girls  shall  be  kept  separ 
ate  in  the  industrial  home. 

Acts,  1897,  p.  42.  Insane  asylums  shall  have  separate  wards  for 
negro  and  for  white  patients. 


206  Stale  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro 

IQOI 

Laws,  IQOI,  p.  159.    Separate  school  law  repeated.    The  required 
number  of  negro  children  must  exceed  ten  for  a  colored  school. 


Wisconsin 

1848 

Constitution  1848,  Article  III,  Section  I.  Voting  is  limited  to  white 
citizens. 

1849 

Laws,  1840,  p.  85.  An  act  providing  for  the  submission  to  popular 
vote  of  the  question  of  negro  suffrage  in  the  State.  It  provided  for 
a  separate  ballot  at  the  general  election  to  vote  on  the  question  of 
negro  suffrage.  If  this  should  carry,  Section  2  should  be  a  law. 

Section  2.  Any  negro  residing  one  year  in  the  State  shall  be 
eligible  to  hold  any  office. 

In  November,  1849,  the  election  on  African  suffrage  was  held. 
For  suffrage,  5,265  votes  were  cast,  and  against  it,  4,075.  This  was 
not  a  majority  equal  to  a  'majority  of  all  the  votes  cast  at  such  elec 
tion  for  the  offices  voted  for  at  the  same  time.  The  Board  of  Can 
vassers  in  1849  declared  that  a  majority  of  votes  had  not  been  cast 
for  suffrage. 

1865 

Laws,  186$,  p.  577.  A  proposed  amendment  to  the  Constitution, 
extending  negro  suffrage,  was  passed  by  the  legislature,  but  rejected 
when  submitted  to  popular  vote. 

1866 

Gillespie  v.  Palmer,  20  Wisconsin,  544  (1866).  The  Supreme  Court 
held  that  the  right  to  vote  had  been  granted  to  the  negro  by  the 
Act  of  1849  and  the  subsequent  vote  of  the  people  at  the  general 
election  of  November  6,  1849.  The  Court  held  unanimously  that  the 
law  meant  a  majority  of  votes  cast  upon  the  subject,  and  that  the 
action  of  the  legislature  and  the  people  since  that  time  had  taken 
place  without  serious  thought  and  consideration. 


State  Legislation  Concerning  the  Free  Negro  207 

1895 

Laws,  1895,  p.  428,  Chapter  223.  (Statutes,  1915.  Section  4398.) 
Any  person  who  shall  deny  in  whole  or  in  part  the  accommodations 
of  any  inns,  restaurants,  saloons,  barber  shops,  eating  houses,  pub 
lic  conveyances  on  land  or  water,  or  any  other  place  of  public 
accommodation  or  amusement,  except  for  reasons  applicable  alike 
to  all  persons  of  every  race  or  color,  or  who  shall  aid  or  incite  such 
denial,  or  require  any  person  to  pay  a  larger  sum  than  the  regular 
rate  charged  other  persons  for  such  accommodations  or  privileges, 
is  liable  to  pay  to  the  person  aggrieved  not  less  than  $5  with  costs, 
and  shall  also  be  punished  by  a  fine  of  not  more  than  $100,  or  con 
finement  in  the  county  jail  not  exceeding  six  months,  or  both; 
judgment  for  one  to  bar  the  other. 


Wyoming 

1887 

Revised  Statutes,  1887.  Section  3947-  When  there  are  fifteen  or 
more  colored  children  within  any  school  district,  the  board  of  direc 
tors  thereof,  with  the  approval  of  the  county  superintendent  of 
schools,  may  provide  separate  schools  for  the  instruction  of  such 
colored  children. 

1889 

Constitution,  1889,  Article  I.  Section  j.  The  laws  of  this  State 
affecting  the  political  rights  and  privileges  of  its  citizens  shall  be 
without  distinction  of  race,  color,  sex,  or  any  circumstance  or  con 
dition  whatsoever  other  than  individual  incompetency,  or  unworthi- 
ness  duly  ascertained  by  a  court  or  competent  jurisdiction. 


Vita 

The  author  of  this  study  was  born  September  I,  1875.  He 
received  the  degree  of  A.B.  from  the  University  of  Chicago,  in  1896. 
During  the  years  1896-1898  and  1913-1914  he  was  a  graduate 
student  in  Columbia  University.  He  graduated  from  the  Rochester 
Theological  Seminary  in  1903  and  was  ordained  to  the  ministry. 
In  1914  he  became  head  of  the  Department  of  Social  Service  of  the 
University  of  Toronto.  As  a  student  in  Columbia  University  he 
studied  under  Professors  Giddings,  Seligman,  Chaddock,  John 
Bassett  Moore,  F.  J.  Goodnow,  Devine,  and  Lindsay.  He  received 
the  degrees  of  LL.B.  and  A.M.  from  Columbia  in  1898. 


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